A comparative study of the for-profit and nonprofit hospitals in a Southern province / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To find out about the current situation of the for-profit hospitals in a Southern province and to compare them with the nonprofit hospitals there of the same size. Methods Using routine health statistics data of the year 2002,71 for-profit hospitals with authorized beds were compared with 132 nonprofit hospitals of the same size.Results The for-profit hospitals had a small number of staff and basically little burden posed by retired personnel;they provided a small volume of outpatient and emergency services but a volume of inpatient services equal to that provided by the nonprofit hospitals;their income and expenditure levels were less than half of those of the nonprofit hospitals,but they had a balanced budget;like the nonprofit hospitals,they faced the issue of patients defaulting on payment.Conclusion Now that the development of non-public economy is being encouraged in the country,for-profit hospitals will witness high growth.Thus possible adverse effects ought to be carefully taken into account in the formulation of policies and corresponding countermeasures ought to be taken.