Medicine under socialism : Some observations on Yugoslavia and China

Based on fieldwork in Yugoslavia and China, we compare medicine in two societies which are attempting to construct their own unique paths to socialism. After a brief description of each country and its sociopolitical system, we sketch the broad outlines of the health care system which has evolved. We then discuss certain constraints on achieving the socialist objectives of equality of access to health care and democratization of the patient-clinician relationship. In a concluding section, we summarize some of the similarities and differences in medicine under Yugoslav and Chinese socialism, respectively.