Li Xiao (www.china.com.cn):

My understanding of the regulations on ethics files in Shanghai is that those who take bribes or hongbao will not be punished, but will only be deprived of the access to promotion or other awards for the year. To take hongbao is actually a violation of the law, so those involved in the crime should be punished in accordance with the law. However, by issuing these regulations, health authorities mean to handle such issues internally.

The lack of basic professional ethics is a common concern among medical workers. Severe legal punishment will prove to be more effective than the so-called ethics files. If whoever violates relevant regulations is severely punished, such as being thrown into prison or fired, then all medical workers will begin to take the professional ethics seriously. Comparatively, ethics files are much less effective measures.

Ethics files helpful

Geng Yinping (www.xinhuanet.com): In recent years, some hospitals appear to have emphasized hardware too much, believing that advanced equipment is the only symbol of medical modernization. It’s a pity that they have neglected or even deliberately turned a blind eye to such software as doctors’ professional ethics. In order to make more profits, serious ethical problems are emerging among medical workers.

If doctors have no high professional ethics, even the best medical equipment in the world can’t work effectively. Without heartfelt care for his or her patients, even the most experienced doctor will find his or her capability quite limited.

On the contrary, despite their limited outdated medical equipment, “barefoot doctors” (rural non-professional medics) in the 1970s did a terrific job across China thanks to their high professional ethics and caring manner. Praised by the United Nations Children’s Fund, “barefoot doctors” provided rural areas with elementary medical care, setting an example for other developing countries.

In the process of modernizing medical institutions, hospitals are expected to pay more attention to doctors’ professional ethics. Only when this happens can they expect understanding, support and respect from patients, and only in this way can conflicts and disputes between hospitals and patients be resolved.

By setting up medical ethics files, Shanghai’s medial authorities mean to strengthen the self-discipline of hospital staff and the supervision of hospitals. I believe this practice will set a good example and encourage the whole medical industry to clean up its act.

Dan Chun (The Beijing News): Since professional ethics files are set up within hospitals, many people suspect that hospitals will deliberately conceal doctors’ bad records from their patients. Some despise this new initiative as another example of “formalism,” believing that medical workers never care about such a system.

It’s a pity that so many people have such a misunderstanding of this practice. In some people’s view, all doctors are of low moral integrity and it’s impossible to restore professional ethics among them. I want to argue that the way medical workers behaved during the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 proves that most of them are qualified in terms of medical ethics. Current conflicts between hospitals and patients should be blamed on a few rotten apples in the medical barrel.

I don’t think ethics files should be categorized as “formalism.” On the one hand, we expect to see high professional ethics among the medical team, hoping that a good system will help to improve the present situation; on the other hand, when such a system is put forward, people always suspect and even jeer at it. Why not applaud the ethics files? Trust it and support it and wait to see how much it can do to improve the relationship between hospitals and patients before criticizing it.

Wang Shichuan (Workers’ Daily): Medical ethics files alone can neither put an end to bribery nor help to reverse the declining ethics. That’s why we have seen relevant laws and regulations are also helping to control such things as bribery.

The files will contain records of whether medical workers behave politely, respect patients’ rights and interests, have received bribes and so forth. Such a detailed record is a big progress. Although the files will not totally prevent the deterioration of professional ethics, they are able to deter some doctors from behaving badly.

The reason why some do not trust the files is that a certain group of ill-behaved doctors have damaged the image of the whole medical profession.

To improve doctors’ professional ethics, there is no shortcut. Actually, no matter whether it is medical system reform or strict laws and regulations, none are able to improve medical workers’ professional ethics alone. We need to take a variety of measures and try to improve the situation step by step.