Current status of endoscopy department of county hospitals in China: a cross-sectional study / 中华消化内镜杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the current status of endoscopy department of county hospitals in China, and to improve the construction quality of the endoscopy department of county hospitals.Methods:County hospitals from 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in 2019 were investigated in this study through an online survey. Questions were about the department scale, basic information of the endoscopy center, clinical diagnosis and treatment ability, teaching and academic ability.Results:A total of 114 county hospitals were included. The department of gastroenterology in county hospitals owned 38.9 beds, 8.6 doctors and 6.4 nurses on average in 2019. The mean host and endoscope were 3.1 and 11.0 respectively in each center. The mean outpatient, discharge and endoscopy procedure were 22 thousand , 2.3 thousand and 7.8 thousand respectively. The referral rate of 53 (46.5%) hospitals to higher-level hospitals was less than 3%. In terms of teaching and academy, 5 (4.4%) in 114 hospitals had endoscopist training bases of Chinese Medical Association. Fifty-two (45.6%) county hospitals hosted academic conferences at the city level and above, 21 (18.4%) published SCI papers and 67 (58.8%) published papers in key Chinese journals.Conclusion:Endoscopy centers of most county hospitals are well constructed with comprehensive facilities, qualified medical ability, management, and a research team, which meets the recommendation level of service.