Effects of and Prospects for the Hierarchical Medical Policy in Beijing, China

Abstract

Hierarchical medical policies are widely used worldwide to reduce healthcare costs, rationalize the use of healthcare resources, and improve accessibility and fairness of healthcare services. However, few case studies have evaluated the effects and prospects of such policies. Medical reform efforts in China have distinct goals and characteristics. Therefore, we investigated the effects of a hierarchical medical policy in Beijing and assessed the future potential of the policy to yield insights for other countries, especially developing countries. Different methods were used to analyze multidimensional data from official statistics, a questionnaire survey of 595 healthcare workers from 8 representative public hospitals in Beijing, a questionnaire survey of 536 patients, and 8 semi-structured interview records. The hierarchical medical policy had strong positive effects on improving access to healthcare services, balancing the workload of healthcare workers in various levels of public hospitals, and improving the management of public hospitals. The remaining obstacles include severe job stress among healthcare workers, the high cost of some healthcare services, and the need for improvement in the development level and service capacity of primary hospitals. This study provides useful policy recommendations regarding the implementation and extension of the hierarchical medical policy, including the need for governments to improve the hospital assessment system and for hospitals to actively participate in developing medical partnerships.

Emerging trends and patterns in healthcare-seeking behavior: A systematic review

“…The increasingly improved healthcare system reduces the economic burden of illness for individuals [8,48,49] and also contributes to the sustainable development of the healthcare system to some extent. [50,51] Future research should focus on how to optimize healthcare security measures for the elderly and establish a suitable healthcare insurance system for them in the context of highly developed medical informatics. This will provide the elderly with more comprehensive and sustainable healthcare security, promoting their health and well-being.…”

Effectiveness of hierarchical medical system and economic growth: based on China’s urban vs. rural health perspectives

“…As shown in Figure 3, some variables were grouped into primary healthcare institutions, township health centers, community health service centers, and hospitals (10). According to Yongchuang Gao et al, severe job stress among healthcare workers, the high cost of some healthcare services, and the need for improvement in the development level and service capacity of primary hospitals are important factors influencing the effectiveness of hierarchical treatment (11). We considered selecting appropriate variables from physical resources, human resources, financial support, service utilization, and other relevant indicators (10,12).…”