Voice 1107 I

Surveys show that 90 percent of county-level hospitals are operating in the red; that is what the 14th Forum for Hospital Chiefs concluded, according to Cao Ronggui, chair of the Chinese Hospital Association. Cao blames insufficient government input for the financial bind of county hospitals, which he worries will result in excessive prescribing of drugs as these institutions try desperately to cover their deficits. Pharmaceutical companies reward use of their products. Other problems facing these institutions include the questionable academic records of their faculties, which are often plagued by high turnover, a condition that outdated facilities and equipment may exacerbate. But he acknowledges the state fund for county hospitals has been picking up over the past years, steadily increasing their number and bed count. Last year the number of beds at county hospitals showed an increase of 40.72 percent over 2005, and the number of patients treated at county hospitals was up 46.8 percent. According to Cao, over 900 million Chinese, or 70 percent of the population, live in the counties and the 9,621 county-level hospitals account for 46 percent of the nation's total.