Has China's Healthcare Reform Reduced the Number of Patients in Large General Hospitals?

Many studies have shown that the new round of healthcare reform launched by the Chinese government in 2009 has not effectively solved the problem in which patients more readily choose large general hospitals. We aimed to find out if this situation exists in every department of a large general hospital. This study collected the outpatient data of 24 departments for a large general hospital in Beijing. By calculating the average growth rate of outpatients in each department from 2014 to 2019, and the utilization rate of outpatient appointments in different departments in 2020, we found that the average growth rate of outpatients in 4 departments (16.6%) was negative, and the utilization rate of outpatient appointments in 13 departments (54.16%) was less than 80%. This shows that the number of patients in some departments is declining, and that there is an inefficient use of doctor resources. Obviously, this is inconsistent with people's current beliefs. Therefore, it is not entirely true that China's healthcare reform has not reduced the number of patients in large general hospitals. At the same time, the inefficient use of outpatient doctor resources is a phenomenon worthy of attention; if it persists, it will result in significant waste in the healthcare system. We suggest that policy makers and hospital managers in China, and countries similar to China, can attract attention and take measures.

Demands and countermeasures for outpatients and emergency patients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in large general hospital. / 大型综合性医院2019å† çŠ¶ç— æ¯’ç— ç–«æƒ æœŸé—´é—¨æ€¥è¯Šæ‚£è€ å°±è¯Šéœ€æ±‚åŠåº”å¯¹.

OBJECTIVES: To discuss the demands and countermeasures for outpatients and emergency patients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in large general hospital. METHODS: By analyzing patients' demands, outpatient service system and emergency system complemented each other with the help of "internet medical" to provide online medical treatment, self-diagnosed pneumonia program, online pharmacies, outpatient appointment and online pre-examination services, open green channels for special patients, and to provide referral services for critical patients. The COVID-19 suspected patients and other common fever patients were separated from other patients. RESULTS: From January 28 to March 1, we have received 26 000 patients online, 1 856 special patients, 2 929 suspected patients and common fever patients including 31 confirmed patients, 0 case of misdiagnosis and cross-infection. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting patient's demands and taking appropriate measures are effective on meeting the needs of outpatients' and emergency patients' medical services.

Demands and countermeasures for outpatients and emergency patients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 in large general hospital / 中南大学学报(医学版)

OBJECTIVES@#To discuss the demands and countermeasures for outpatients and emergency patients during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in large general hospital.@*METHODS@#By analyzing patients' demands, outpatient service system and emergency system complemented each other with the help of "internet medical" to provide online medical treatment, self-diagnosed pneumonia program, online pharmacies, outpatient appointment and online pre-examination services, open green channels for special patients, and to provide referral services for critical patients. The COVID-19 suspected patients and other common fever patients were separated from other patients.@*RESULTS@#From January 28 to March 1, we have received 26 000 patients online, 1 856 special patients, 2 929 suspected patients and common fever patients including 31 confirmed patients, 0 case of misdiagnosis and cross-infection.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Targeting patient's demands and taking appropriate measures are effective on meeting the needs of outpatients' and emergency patients' medical services.

Calculation of Personnel Arrangement in Outpatient Pharmacy of a Large General Hospital by Working Hour Measurement / 中国药师

Objective:To explore the personnel arrangement in the outpatient pharmacy by calculating working hour to provide ref-erence for the rational staffing in hospital. Methods:The daily work content and working hour of 18 pharmacists in the outpatient phar-macy of a large general hospital from January to March in 2013 were following-up observed and recorded using the working hour meas-urement. The data were input the EXcellsoftware to establish the database, and the workload in various positions was collected and sorted. The obtained relative parameters were used to calculate the needed worker number on the basis of manpower planning model. Results:The research confirmed the mean operation time for 9 work programs in the outpatient pharmacy, and the time for drug dispen-sing and distributing was detailed. The needed number of pharmacists was 13. 29 according to the calculation, plus the officer-in-charge and sanitation workers, the total number was 15. 29(approx. 16). Conclusion:The working hour measurement can scientifically de-termine the time for each job, and the workload should be used as the foundation for configuring personnel qualification and the number in outpatient pharmacy.

Comprehensive study of evaluation system for sustainable innovation ability of science and technology in large general hospitals / 中华医学科研管理杂志

Objective To evaluate the sustainable innovative ability of science and technology (S &T) of four large general hospitals from three different regions of China(Chongqing, Shaanxi and Hunan) with an evaluation system. Method The data collected were processed with normalization method. The evaluation models were established and varied in design to reflect either the dynamic trends or the levels of innovative abilities in different hospitals. Results Hospital A, B and D took on an ascending trend in sustainable S & T ability for innovation, while hospital C showed a descending trend in recent years. Overall, hospital A and D had a stronger sustainable S & T ability for innovation than hospital B and C. Conclusion The eval-uation system established is able to reflect the levels and trends of sustainable S & T innovative ability of the selected hospitals, which is in accordance with the actual situations, and is therefore scientific and feasible.It could provide reference for hospital S & T administrators to make decisions and is favorable to the sustainable development of hospital's S & T innovative ability.

Establishment of index system for evaluating sustainable innovation ability of science and technology in large general hospital / 中华医学科研管理杂志

Objectives To establish an evaluation index system for general hospital's sustainable innovation ability of science and technoloby and determine the index weight. Methods Firstly, the theory of scientific and technological innovation was discussed based on the systematic analysis of the related facts from the documents. Secondly, a set of targets was drafted with methods of work breakdown structure (WBS), classification and combination from references to many other studies of science and technology evaluation, and then revised by experts who are familiar with the subject. Thirdly, the weight of each target was decided through Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and questionnaires. Results A systematic and comprehensive evaluation system of the general hospital's sustainable innovation ability of science and technology, comprised 3 first-level indicators, 15 second-level indicators and 37 third-level indicators, which were proved reliable by consistency check. The weights of each indicator were also defined. Conclusions The evaluation system comprises both qualitative and quantitative indicators. The indicators not only reflect the performance of a period, but also reflect the sustainability of large general hospitals' scientific and technological innovation ability. By using the scientific consultation, analysis and statistics, the evaluation system is proved to be valid and reliable.