Two-way respect is crucial for successful treatment

First Person | Shi Haoying

Patients' distrust of doctors can sometimes hinder a physician's ability to help them. The level of trust displayed by patients and their willingness to cooperate with a doctor often has an influence on the outcome of their treatment.

Doctors always want to help patients to improve their health through various means, but nobody can guarantee a 100-percent recovery. Sometimes a doctor has a radical approach in mind to treat a case, but if the patient doesn't show much trust, the doctor may not even mention the possible option because they don't want to cause trouble for themselves.

Medical treatment always involves uncertainty and there are risks in any treatment plan. For example, a doctor may be confident that a surgical plan may have an 80 percent probability of success, but there is always the chance that the surgery may not solve the problem. Doctors are also human beings, and nobody is willing to be physically attacked or sued in the courts.

Doctors and patients must face all the risks together because mutual trust is the foundation of medical development.

One advantage private hospitals enjoy is that the doctors have adequate time to communicate with their patients. That's really important because it means we can gain comprehensive knowledge of the patient's condition and explain the treatment options and their pros and cons.

Recognition of the value of the medical services provided by doctors in public hospitals is really low. The money they earn, excluding "gray income" from prescriptions and sponsored use of medical equipment and instruments, doesn't even begin to repay their years of education and intensive work. For example, an emergency treatment may cost less than 200 yuan ($30). I think the prices are inconsistent with the value of the services provided.

We have to build a good system to encourage doctors to continue their work - only in this way, will we see more top talent joining medical teams.