Source: Lingnan (University) College
Written by: Lingnan-EHS Academy
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

The Summit Forum for Reforming and Developing China's Medical Organizations: Focusing on Human Resources in Public Hospitals took place on December 27th, 2014 on South Campus of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU). The Forum was organized by the SYSU Academy of Social Development and the Guangdong Hospital Association, and co-organized by the Guangdong Academy of Human Resources and the Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital; and undertaken by Lingnan-EHS Academy and Academic and Continuous Education Department of the Guangdong Hospital Association. 

The main purpose of the forum was to pool resources and to absorb all useful opinions, for the promotion of reformation and innovation of Chinese medical organization management. The forum was the first academic event about healthcare reform and hospital management held in SYSU. Also, it was the first large-scale and high-profile national forum focusing on the topic of public hospital human resources in recent years.

The attendees of the forum included Mr. Gong Sen, Director of Institute for Public Management and Human Resources of the Development Research Center of the State Council; Mr. Zhong Dongbo, Deputy Director of Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission; Mr. Li Weiping, Professor of China National Health Development Research Center; Mr. Liao Xinbo, Counsel of Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province; Prof. Wei Minghai, Vice President of SYSU; Mr. Zeng Guohong, President of Guangdong Hospital Association; Mr. Zhai Lixiang, Party Secretary of Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medical Hospital; Professor Wang Xiaohui from Lingnan (University) College of SYSU; Mr. Li Siming, Director of Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital; Mr. Xu Xiaoping, Senior Manager of The University of Hong Kong - Shenzhen Hospital; Prof. Ma Zuoqiang from China Medical University (Taiwan); and Mr. Chen Guohai, Secretary General of Guangdong Academy of Human Resources. More than 300 delegates from Guangdong, Shanghai, Guangxi and Hubei participated in the forum, including hospital managers, executives of medical and pharmaceutical corporations, experts from related research fields and representatives of healthcare industry associations.

Prof. Wei Minghai delivered a welcome speech at the opening ceremony acknowledging the significance of the forum. He said that SYSU would carry out more research activities to address the extensively concerned issue of hospital reform. Keynote speeches were given by the five guest speakers afterwards, emphatically discussing the topics of the salary system reform of public hospitals, performance management and the experience of Hong Kong and Taiwan, etc. The last part of the forum was Q&A session. Animated and lively discussions were carried out under the moderation of Ms. Du Yuxuan, presenter of Guangzhou TV. The guest speakers and other delegates shared their insightful viewpoints from different perspectives.

The specific task force formed by SYSU Academy of Social Development, focusing on the research project of "Public Hospital Reform Model and Policy", initiated the first large-scale investigation about the current situation of human resource management of public hospitals as well as living conditions of medical staff in China. At the forum, Professor Wang Xiaohui, head of the task force, released the results of the preliminary investigation — “The Analysis Report on the Current Situation of Human Resource Management of Public Hospitals and Working Status of Medical Staff", followed by several important conclusions and viewpoints. These results immediately drew extensive media attention. Professor Wang said, “So far this research has not yet been completed. Our team will conduct more specific researches and hopefully release more details in the first half of 2015."

The forum not only provided a good opportunity for communication among government departments, hospital administrators, experts and scholars, but also explored the innovation of personnel systems and incentive mechanisms for medical organizations under new medical reform background, which is helpful to accelerate public hospital reform and healthcare industry development.

The forum has obtained a wide coverage in the media. Different news reports were published on five mainstream media in China, which were then syndicated across more than 150 news outlets in the media such as sina.com.cn, tencent.com, netease.com, sohu.com, gmw.cn, people.cn, ifeng.com, youth.cn, Guangdong Satellite TV, Information Times, cfi.net.cn, dayoo.com, rgd.com.cn, dinenv.com, etc.