Work overload and unfair remuneration have been highlighted as major factors in rising unethical practices among doctors and medical workers in the country.

“Doctors do not have sufficient time to answer patients’ questions,” she added.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Du of the Thanh Nhan Hospital in Hanoi said extra payment was made the same rate for all doctors and medical workers of different wards, despite their different nature and intensity of work involved.

This unfair treatment has affected medical ethics, she said.

Dr. Do Manh Hung of the Central Children’s Hospital criticized the limited nature of conversations between doctors and their patients.

Prof. Pham Minh Duc of the Hanoi Medical University, who presented the results of a survey he had led, said researchers had found the attitude of doctors working at provincial and district hospitals was better than those of central ones.

However, he said the quality of consultations offered by doctors at central hospitals was better.

Prof. Duc’s survey, conducted from 2006-2008, looked at the awareness and practice of medical ethics among doctors and other medical workers at 17 hospitals at district, provincial and central levels nationwide as well as medical students at five universities.

Around 86 percent of the 704 doctor respondents said it was necessary to provide training in medical ethics for the medical workforce.

Up to 66 percent of doctors said they had occasionally violated medical ethics, and 6 percent admitted this had happened very often. The rate was higher at central hospitals.

Doctors also enumerated the violations which included prescribing expensive medicines for commission from pharmaceutical companies; advising or transferring patients from hospitals to their private practice; being irresponsible at work or showing no respect to patients; causing unnecessary difficulties to patients; and receiving bribes.

Up to 74 percent of doctors in the survey said low remuneration was the main cause of ethical violations.

Reported by Lien Chau