Factors influencing government insurance scheme beneficiary acceptance of the gatekeeper policy: a cross-sectional study in Wuhan, China.

BACKGROUND: Gatekeeper policy, requiring a patient to visit a primary care provider first, and the patient needs to get his or her primary care provider's referral before seeing a specialist or going to a hospital, has been implemented in China for about ten years, and it is necessary to assess the patients' acceptance of gatekeeper policy and to explore the factors influencing patients' acceptance. METHODS: A cross-sectional study with 1162 respondents was conducted between July and September 2015 at four community health centers (CHCs) in Wuhan, China. Face-to-face interview was used to collect information on demographics, acceptance of the gate keeper policy and satisfaction with community health services. Patients' satisfaction with community health service was evaluated using the European Patients Evaluate General/Family Practice scale and binary logistic regression model was used to examine the factors influencing patients' acceptance of community health services as gate keepers. RESULTS: A total of 512 (43.06%) patients accepted gatekeeper policy. Mandatory reimbursement provision (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.23-2.15), patient satisfaction with the aspects of medical care (OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.12-3.29) and organization of care (OR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.05-2.62) were associated with acceptance of gatekeeper policy, after adjusting for potential confounders. Moreover, young people (OR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.22-0.56) seemed to be more reluctant to accept the policy, when compared with the elder. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that mandatory reimbursement provision greatly affects patients' acceptance of gatekeeper policy, therefore, the policy-maker should pay attention to the negative effect of its mandatory reimbursement provision on patients' acceptance of the policy. However, improving the aspects of medical care and organization of care will contribute to implementation of gatekeeper policy.

Factors Affecting Patient Satisfaction with Community Health Service under the Gatekeeper System: A Cross-sectional Study in Nanjing, China.

The gatekeeper policy has been implemented for approximately ten years on a pilot population in China. It is necessary to assess the satisfaction of patients utilizing community health service (CHS) under the gatekeeper system. Our study showed that the cognition of gatekeeper policy was associated with four dimensions including doctor-patient relationships, information and support, organization of care, and accessibility (P < 0.001). One or more factors such as gender and self-perceived health scores also affected their satisfaction. General practitioners must be prepared to focus on these aspects of information and support, organization of care, and accessibility as indicators of potential opportunities for improvement. Additionally, policymakers can improve patients' satisfaction with CHS by strengthening their awareness of the gatekeeper policy.

Gatekeeping and the utilization of community health services in Shenzhen, China: A cross-sectional study.

To assess the effects of the gatekeeper policy implemented in Shenzhen, China, in conjunction with a labor health insurance program, on channeling patients toward community health centers (CHCs).Eight thousand patients who visited 8 CHCs in Shenzhen were surveyed between May 1, 2013 and July 28, 2013. Half of the patients were subject to gatekeeper policy and the other half of them were not. Structured questionnaire was used to collect patients' choices of initial medical institution, use of CHCs and their satisfaction with health care. Bivariate and regression analyses were used to compare patient's choice, utilization, and satisfaction of CHCs.Compared with patients who were free to seek medical care at any place, patients with gatekeepers were 1.77 (95% CI 1.37-2.30) times more likely to choose CHCs first when seeking care. In the past year, the group with gatekeeper made 0.88 more visits to CHCs in the past year than the group without gatekeeper (P < .01), controlling for influencing factors. The 2 groups were equally satisfied with all satisfaction measures except for "waiting time," which was higher among patients without gatekeepers (P < .01).Our study indicates that, as repeatedly proven in other parts of the world, gatekeeping is effective in orienting patients toward primary care system. Along with increased efforts in rebuilding China's primary care network and expanding health insurance coverage, implementation of gatekeeper policy may help increase access to care, reduce inappropriate use of health resources, and strengthen primary care institutions.