Scholar says local healthcare system lacks transparency

Zhang Jinghua

The assistant dean of the School of Business of the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), Zhang Jinghua, is suggesting that there should be more transparency within Macau’s hospitals.

“Currently, the Macau medical system is open, it gives the private medical sector rooms. However, the medical market is in a situation of unbalanced information [between service providers and customers],” Zhang said on the sidelines an event that took place last week at MUST.

“Regarding the medical sector’s information and transparency, the private sector will need to do more in order to open all information to the public and to receive the medical committee’s supervision,” said Zhang.

In the professor’s opinion, with the constant development of the Internet, data and technology continuing to move forward, “if the medical sector can become more transparent” the customers will have a better service at a lower cost. 

“The lack of transparency results from the fact that the public has no information regarding the market or service providers, for instance, customers are not aware of certain medical techniques,” said Zhang, adding that “this transparency issue will cause a big problem because, when there are medical disputes [the public will not know] whom to hold accountable.”

The professor also said that, in Macau, “private hospitals receive less supervision” when compared to the public ones. She explained that this is due to the undeveloped information system within the private sector.

In addition to Zhang’s opinion on Macau’s hospitals, the MUST professor released a report yesterday on which she worked as a researcher.

Talking about her research, which concerns Macau peoples’ health, the professor briefed that “many of Macau’s health indexes are at an advanced level globally, and that Macau’s medical care efficiency is world’s first-class.”

The professor then highlighted the fact that cancer is the number one cause of deaths in Macau.

Her study found that the survival rate of such cancers as breast, cervical, and colon has been increasing in Macau in recent years, which follows the trend of Europe and the US.

The waiting time for medical services has been a concern of local residents for a long period. Her study indicates that Macau’s waiting time for medical services is relatively short when compared to Canada.

Macau’s healthcare efficiency is also comparable to that of Hong Kong and Singapore, and is ahead of Japan’s and Europe’s, according to Zhang.