Association between direct government subsidies and service scope of primary care facilities: a cross-sectional study in China

Spatial distribution and influencing factors of CDC health resources in China: a study based on panel data from 2016-2021

Background

Measuring the development of Chinese centers for disease control and prevention only by analyzing human resources for health seems incomplete. Moreover, previous studies have focused more on the quantitative changes in healthcare resources and ignored its determinants. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the allocation of healthcare resources in Chinese centers for disease control and prevention from the perspective of population and spatial distribution, and to further explore the characteristics and influencing factors of the spatial distribution of healthcare resources.

Methods

Disease control personnel density, disease control and prevention centers density, and health expenditures density were used to represent human, physical, and financial resources for health, respectively. First, health resources were analyzed descriptively. Then, spatial autocorrelation was used to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of healthcare resources. Finally, we used spatial econometric modeling to explore the influencing factors of healthcare resources.

Results

The global Moran index for disease control and prevention centers density decreased from 1.3164 to 0.2662 (p < 0.01), while the global Moran index for disease control personnel density increased from 0.4782 to 0.5067 (p < 0.01), while the global Moran index for health expenditures density was statistically significant only in 2016 (p < 0.1). All three types of healthcare resources showed spatial aggregation. Population density and urbanization have a negative impact on the disease control and prevention centers density. There are direct and indirect effects of disease control personnel density and health expenditures density. Population density and urbanization had significant negative effects on local disease control personnel density. Urbanization has an indirect effect on health expenditures density.

Conclusion

There were obvious differences in the spatial distribution of healthcare resources in Chinese centers for disease control and prevention. Social, economic and policy factors can affect healthcare resources. The government should consider the rational allocation of healthcare resources at the macro level.

Association between service scope of primary care facilities and prevalence of high-cost population: a retrospective study in rural Guizhou, China

BACKGROUND

High-cost (HC) patients, defined as the small percentage of the population that accounts for a high proportion of health care expenditures, are a concern worldwide. Previous studies have found that the occurrence of HC population is partially preventable by providing a greater scope of primary health care services. However, no study has examined the association between the service scope of primary care facilities and the prevalence of HC populations. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the association between the service scope of primary care facilities (PCFs) and the prevalence of HC populations within the same communities.

METHODS

A multistage, stratified, clustered sampling method was used to identify the service scope of PCFs as of 2017 in rural Guizhou, China. The claims data of 299,633 patients were obtained from the local information system of the New Rural Cooperation Medical Scheme. Patients were sorted by per capita inpatient medical expenditures in descending order, and the top 1%, top 5% and top 10% of patients who had incurred the highest costs were defined as the HC population. Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between the service scope of PCFs and the prevalence of the HC population.

RESULTS

Compared with those in the 95% of the sample deemed as the general population, those in the top 5% of the sample deemed as the HC population were more likely to be over the age of 30 (P <  0.001), to be female (P = 0.014) and to be referred to high-level hospitals (P <  0.001). After controlling for other covariates, patients who lived in the communities serviced by the PCFs with the smallest service scope were more likely to be in the top 1%, top 5% and top 10% of the HC population.

CONCLUSION

A greater PCF service scope was associated with a reduction in the prevalence of the HC population, which would mean that providing a broader PCF service scope could reduce some preventable costs, thus reducing the prevalence of the HC population. Future policy efforts should focus on expanding the service scope of primary care providers to achieve better patient outcomes.

Development of an index system for evaluating the organisational capabilities of primary medical institutions: a modified Delphi study in China

OBJECTIVE

The low performance of primary medical institutions (PMIs) in China is a significant issue. The WHO proposed that the main reason for the failure of the healthcare system in developing countries is poor organisational capabilities. However, there is no international tool for evaluating the organisational capabilities of PMIs. Therefore, this study aimed to develop an index system for evaluating the organisational capabilities of PMIs.

DESIGN

We searched the literature (English and Chinese) published before June 2020 in the PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang databases to conduct a literature review and develop a preliminary indicator pool. Then, two rounds of Delphi expert consultations were conducted by email from June to September 2020, followed by screening, revision and supplementation of the indicators using the boundary value method. Finally, the analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight of the indicators.

SETTING

The Delphi consultation questionnaire was distributed to the leaders of PMIs in districts D, F and S in Beijing, China.

PARTICIPANTS

Nineteen leaders of PMIs who had a profound understanding of PMI operations and management and were able to participate in Delphi research from a professional and comprehensive perspective were included in this study.

RESULTS

The Cr values were 0.76 (first-level indicators) and 0.78 (second-level indicators), indicating that the expert consultation results were accurate and reliable. The result of the expert coordination coefficient test was significant at the p<0.01 level, suggesting that the experts' views were consistent. The organisational capability index system includes 3 first-level indicators, 9 second-level indicators and 37 third-level indicators.

CONCLUSIONS

An index system for the organisational capabilities of PMIs was developed. This index system is a scoring system that focuses on basic service capabilities, management capabilities and sustainable development capabilities, and it can determine the priority of improvement areas for PMIs.

Association between service scope of primary care facilities and patient outcomes: a retrospective study in rural Guizhou, China

BACKGROUND

Extending service scope of primary care facilities (PCFs) has been widely concerned in China. However, no current data about association between service scope of PCFs with patient outcomes are available. This study aims to investigate association between service scope of PCFs and patient outcomes.

METHODS

A multistage, stratified clustered sampling method was used to collect information about service scope of PCFs from rural Guizhou, China. Claim data of 299,633 inpatient cases covered by 64 PCFs were derived from local information system of New Rural Cooperation Medical Scheme. Service scope of PCFs was collected with self-administrated questionnaires. Primary outcomes were (1) level of inpatient institutions, (2) length of stay, (3) per capita total health cost, (4) per capita out-of-pocket cost, (5) reimbursement ratio, (6) 30-day readmission. A total of 64 PCFs were categorized into five groups per facility-level service scope scores. Generalized linear regression models, logistic regression model, and ordinal regression model were conducted to identify association between service scope of PCFs and patient outcomes.

RESULTS

On average, the median service scope score of PCFs was 20, with wide variation across PCFs. After controlling for demographic and clinical characteristics, patients living in communities with PCFs of greatest service scope (Quintile V vs. I) tended to have smaller rates of admission by county-level hospitals (-6.2 % [-6.5 %, -5.9 %], city-level hospitals (-1.9 % [-2.0 %, -1.8 %]), and provincial hospitals (-2.1 % [-2.2 %, -2.0 %]), smaller rate of 30-day readmission (-0.5 % [-0.7 %, -0.2 %]), less total health cost (-201.8 [-257.9, -145.8]) and out-of-pocket cost (-210.2 [-237.2, -183.2]), and greater reimbursement ratio (2.3 % [1.9 %, 2.8 %]) than their counterparts from communities with PCFs of least service scope.

CONCLUSIONS

Service scope of PCFs varied a lot in rural Guizhou, China. Greater service scope was associated with a reduction in secondary and tertiary hospital admission, reduced total cost and out-of-pocket cost, and 30-day readmission and increased reimbursement ratio. These results raised concerns about access to care for patients discharged from hospitals, which suggests potential opportunities for cost savings and improvement of quality of care. However, further evidence is warranted to investigate whether extending service scope of PCFs is cost-effective and sustainable.