Health care reform could be prescription for employment

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-09 16:10

The government also pledged to fund construction of 29,000 township hospitals this year and the upgrading of 5,000 township hospitals. It will also finance the construction of village clinics in remote areas so that every village will have a clinic in the next three years.

In addition, 3,700 community health centers and 11,000 community health stations would be set up or upgraded in cities.

Most of the work at these facilities would probably be done by local residents and graduates. Their jobs, and spending, would have an impact on the local economy.

A commentary by the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao newspaper said the health care reform would offer "proper jobs" for both college graduates and migrant workers, since it would promote development of the service sectors in both the medical care and insurance sectors. Among the jobs that it forecast would be created were:

-- Assistants for senior doctors, who would serve as practitioners for two years before being promoted.

-- Permanent hospital attendants, who would replace non-staff ones.

-- Information managers, who would be responsible for installing and maintaining IT applications in hospitals.

-- Workers at community clinics, including general practitioners, home attendants for chronic-care patients and electronic patient file managers.

-- Medical inspectors to monitor all levels of health care institutions.

-- Planners, managers and agents of the medical insurance fund, as well as IT workers who keep records for the fund.

OPPORTUNITY FOR FOREIGN FIRMS

Even some foreign employers see business opportunities in the reform.

US computer group IBM said Tuesday it expected that at least 1,000 hospitals in China would spend at least 1.5 million US dollars each to set up electronic medial records under the plan, the Financial Times reported.

The company saw huge business potential in construction and upgrading of hospitals and clinics.

Matt Wang, vice-president of IBM's China Development Lab, told the UK-based newspaper that the project was a rare example of a foreign company directly benefiting from China's economic stimulus package.

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