Analysis on medical service and regional differences of private hospitals in China since the new healthcare reform

Objective To analyze problems in the development of medical service at private hospitals, and provide references for promoting the development of these hospitals and implementing policies for encouraging this sector′s growth. Methods The data were collected from the statistical yearbook published by the National Health Commission of the People′s Republic of China, and descriptive analysis method was used to analyze the medical service workload and medical service efficiency of private hospitals in China since the new healthcare reform. Results Private hospitals accounted for 56.39% of the total number of hospitals in China, accounting for 21.69% of beds by the end of 2016.From the perspective of medical service workload, the service volume of these hospitals had increased yet at a small pace.The number of patients and inpatients received accounted for 12.90% and 15.84% respectively of all the hospitals in China. From the point of service efficiency, by the end of 2016, the bed utilization ratio was 62.8%, the daily medical visits to their doctors were 5.5 persons-times, and the daily number of hospitalized beds per doctor was 2.2 beds.These numbers lag far behind public hospitals.The development of private hospitals varied with regions in imbalance. Conclusions Improving the social image, attracting talents and improving service quality are key to improving the medical service capacity of private hospitals. Key words: Health resources; Private hospitals; Service volume; Service efficiency; Regional differences