Objective To investigate the disease constitution and cost of inpatients in Gaozha Central Township Health Center (GzC) in Wuzhong City of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region from 2008 to 2010, so as to provide baseline data for further research. Methods A questionnaire combined with a special interview was carried out, and case records and cost information of GzC inpatients in 2008, 2009 and 2010 (from January to November) were collected. The diseases in discharge record were classified according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) based on the first diagnose and the cost was analyzed. Data including general information of the inpatients, discharge diagnosis, hospitalization expenses, and drug cost etc. were rearranged and analyzed by Excel software. Results a) The total number of the inpatients was 1124, 642 and 747 in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively. The female was more than the male in both 2008 (59.34% vs. 40.66%) and 2009 (60.75% vs. 39.25%), and their disease spectrum included 17 categories, which accounted for 81% of ICD-10; b) The top six most commonly seen systematic diseases with a constituent ratio from 86.63% to 92.06% in recent three years were as follows: the respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, genitourinary system, injury and toxicosis, skeletal musculature and connective tissue disease. Except the injury and toxicosis, the other five systematic diseases were commonly seen in females rather than in males; c) The top 15 monopathies in recent three years were pulmonary infection, tracheitis or bronchitis, coronary heart disease, soft tissue injury, gastritis or chronic gastritis, upper respiratory infection, hypertension, urinary tract infection, prolapse of lumbar intervertebral disc, pelvic inflammation, fracture, pneumocardial diseases, superficial injury, chronic cholecystitis and arthritis; d) The main burdens of disease for inpatients focused on 35-54 age groups, then followed by the age groups above 55 in 2008 and 2009. Except the injury and toxicosis, the other diseases were commonly seen in females rather than in males. Pulmonary infection focused on the age groups above 35; the onset of hypertension increased obviously and a sharp rise of hypertension existed in the 45-54 age groups in 2008, but the hypertention focused on 35-44 age groups in 2009; e) The total inpatients with top 15 monopathies accounted for 64.06% to 71.21%, including 8-9 chronic diseases ranking higher in 2010, and 6-7 acute diseases focusing on infection and injury; and f) The average costs of chronic diseases were higher than those of acute diseases. Conclusion a) There is a big gap between GzC and Yong’an Central Township Health Center (YaC) regarding the level of the regional economic development, the situation of disease burden and cost of inpatients. The former is demonstrated as general Central Township Health Center, while the latter as affluent Central Township Health Center in western China; b) In recent three years, the main systematic diseases are in respiratory, circulatory and digestive system; the inpatients suffer from more chronic diseases rather than acute diseases in their young age; the acute diseases mainly include infection and injury, and the pulmonary infection has ranked as the first during the past three years; c) The inpatients in 2008 and 2009 are mainly in ages of 35 to 54, and then are over 55 years old. Except the injury and toxicosis, the other diseases were commonly seen in females rather than in males; d) The patients’ average costs of chronic diseases for hospitalization and drug in 2010 were lower than those of YaC. Consideration on reasonable constitution of the cost for hospitalization should be paid attention to; and e) It is urgent to strengthen the construction of infrastructure and informatization in GzC.
Objective To investigate the health technology assessment reports, analyze publication characteristics and report quality, and explore hot topics in health technology assessment. Methods Web of Science and CNKI databases were searched to collect complete health technology assessment reports from inception to January 2023. SPSS 26.0 software was used to analyze the publication journals, countries, number of authors, assessment types and assessment contents of the assessment reports. The report quality was assessed based on International Network of Agencies for Health Technology Assessment (INAHTA) report criteria (2007 edition). VOSviewer 1.6.11 was used to analyze keywords clustering. Results A total of 216 papers were included, with 158 published by Chinese authors, and a rapid growth trend in the number of reports over past four years. The rate of reports on health technology social adaptability assessment was only 17.13%. Among the Chinese reports, 25 were general health technology assessments, 35 were rapid assessments, and 3 were mini assessments. Among the English reports, 4 were rapid assessments, and 54 were regular healthcare technology assessments. For the 14 items in the INAHTA reporting criteria, the reporting rates were high for the brief summary (98.61%), problem description (94.91%), and results discussion entries (97.69%). However, the reporting rates were low for criteria such as personnel responsibilities, conflict of interest statements, and peer review statements, at 31.94%, 19.44%, and 3.24% respectively. English literature generally exhibited higher report quality. Conclusion In recent years, the volume of health technology assessment reports in China has been increasing, with developments in assessment types and application fields. However, there are also problems with standardization of reporting.
Objective To investigate inpatient disease constitution in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from 2008 to 2010, in order to provide baseline data for medicine allocation of hospitals in western China and development of TCM hospitals. Methods A questionnaire combined with a subject interview was carried out, and the case records of inpatients from 2008 to 2010 were collected. The diseases in discharge records were classified according to International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) based on the first diagnosis. Data including general information of the inpatients, discharge diagnosis etc. were rearranged and analyzed by Excel software. Results a) The top four systematic diseases seen commonly from 2008 to 2010 were as follows: circulatory system diseases, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases, respiratory system diseases and digestive system diseases. The top four single diseases were hypertension, intervertebral disc disease, diabetes, bronchitis, emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. Respiratory system diseases ranked the third in 2009 and 2010 from the fourth in 2008, and circulatory system diseases had ranked the first during the past three years; b) The following diseases as hypertension, bronchial emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, diabetes, fractures, airway (bronchus, lung) cancer, and viral hepatitis were commonly seen in males rather than in females. By contrast, intervertebral disc disease, gallstone disease and cholecystitis, and anemia were commonly seen in females; and c) Hypertension was commonly seen in the aged above 60 years old; intervertebral disc disease mainly focused on the patients at the age of 15 to 59; and bronchial emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, airway (bronchus, lung) cancer involved in the patients who were mostly over 60 years old. Conclusion a) The top four systematic diseases seen commonly from 2008to 2010 are as follows: circulatory system diseases, musculoskeletal system and connective tissue diseases, respiratory system diseases and digestive system diseases. The top four single diseases are hypertension, intervertebral disc disease, diabetes, bronchitis, emphysema and other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases. So these diseases should be taken into well consideration when making development plans by hospital and complementing essential drugs list by local development; b) Chronic diseases become the main disease for troubling Xinjiang population; and c) Male and female are susceptible to different diseases which should be rationally avoided in order to prevent the induced occurrence.
Objective To investigate the orthopaedic inpatients’ disease and cost constitution of the Third People’s Hospital of Chengdu during 2008-2010, so as to provide detailed baseline data for further research on the factorial analysis of disease burden and effective intervention. Methods The medical records of inpatients in orthopaedic department of the hospital during 2008-2010 were collected, and the diseases based on the first diagnosis on discharge records were classified according to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10). Results During 2008 to 2010, the total number of inpatients increased year by year. Most of the male inpatients were the young and middle-aged, while the female were the old. The rank order of top 5 systematic diseases didn’t change, while there were 6 single diseases kept ranking as top 10 in those 3 years. The average cost per capita averagely grew by 8.97%. The top 3 constitution of hospitalization cost remained the same, which were material cost, drug cost, and treatment cost; while the top 3 payment modes of hospitalization cost were patient’s own expense, social security, and public expense. Among those payment modes, social security rose obviously, and patient’s own expense reduced generally. Conclusion a) The total number of inpatients increases yearly during 2008-2010, and the gender and age distribution of inpatients are tending towards stability. b) The spectrum of disease and single diseases classified according to the one-level code of ICD-10 are relatively stable in those 3 years; of which the top ranked disease is lumbar disc herniation, and the disease with most obviously rising trend is intertrochanteric fracturethe. c) The hospitalization cost per capita rises year by year, of which the constituent ratio of both material and examination costs grow obviously, but the operation, treatment and bed costs are still lower. It requires a multi-pronged approach to control the increase of hospitalization cost as well as the rationalization of cost constitution. d) Among all payment modes of hospitalization cost, the constituent ratio of patient’s own expense reduces year by year, while social security rises, indicating the medical security in national social security has been further expanded.
Objective To understand the current situation of medical service and management in Luxi township health center (LxC) in Yongxin county of Jiangxi province, so as to provide baseline data about drug allocation, logistic key techniques research and products development for township health centers. Methods By means of questionnaire and focus interview, the LxC was investigated from the following aspects: general information, human resources, medicine list, basic device configuration, medical service and management, as well as service efficiency. Results a) Yongxin county including 13 village committees covers an area of 86 km2, with the population of 22 300 in 2009, and it pertains to a backward area with the annual per capita income of RMB 4 100 yuan; b) Among the total 28 staffs in LxC, 78.6% were health workers; the general practitioner (GP)/nurse ratio was about 1?0.58; the proportion of GP, nurses, medical technicians, other staffs was 54.55%, 31.82%, 9.09% and 4.54%, respectively; the proportion of bachelor degree, junior college graduation and secondary technical school graduation was 9.1%, 13.6%, and 77.3%, respectively; and the ratio of elementary, middle, and high professional title of health workers was 15?5?1; c) There were 625 species of drugs in LxC in 2009, and the hospital beds approved by government were 0.69 per thousand agricultural persons, which, however, were 1.15 in fact. The rate of 51 basic equipments shown in national regulation was actually 76.5%, and the readiness and utilization rate of existing 40 equipments was 92.5%; and d) In 2009, the outpatients were 12 150 person-time, with the average cost of RMB 29.39 yuan; the hospital discharge was 1 589 person-time, with the average stay of 12 days and the average cost of RMB 490.05 yuan; the vaccine inoculations were 5 053 person-time; among the total income, the medical service income accounted for 73.2%, while the drug income accounted for 53.7%; the personnel expenditure was 31.0% of the total, and the balance of income and expenditure was RMB –263 500 yuan. Conclusion The hardware condition of LxC is not so good owing to the financial difficulties of Yongxin county and Jiangxi provincial government. In comparison with the whole country, although the professional title structure is ok, health workers are still not enough, with unreasonable specialty structure and low educational background. The rate of basic equipments and the approved hospital beds per thousand agricultural persons are low. There are 625 species of drugs, containing 218 species shown in 2009 national essential medicine list. And the other conditions are as follows: no information system, lack of public health service, short of financial input, high ratio of “running hospital by selling drugs”, and low efficiency of medical service. So the top priority of LxC construction should be figuring out all of the above issues, and better serving the people.
Objective To understand current situation of medical service and management in Yong’an Central Township Health Center (YaC) through on-the-spot investigation, in order to provide references for personal employment and essential medicines list implement in township health centers. Methods Questionnaire and focus interview were carried out, which included the general information, human resources, medical service and management, and the practice of essential medicines list. Results The hardware equipments of YaC were fine, and the target population had fairly good health and economy status. The ratio of General Practitioner (GP)/ nurse and GP/ pharmacist were all above the national average level. The members with college degree and above accounted for 61.6%, and about 88% staffs were with or below primary profession titles. There was a balance between personnel flow out and in. The drug income accounted for 53.6% of the whole in 2009 and the medical expenses increased compared to 2008. Essential medicines list was put into practice in April 1st of 2010 with no relevant technical documents as correspondence. Conclusion YaC, as a good representative of fairly well-off rural Township Health Center in western China, needs to cope with challenges of irrational personnel structure, low educational background and professional title of the staff and human resources flow, and requires developing policy and adopting measures step by step. The management of YaC may be influenced by zero-profit price of the essential medicine, and appropriate subsidy and policy support are necessary to maintain current service quality.
Objective To understand the current situation of medical service and management in Xintian Central Township Health Center (XtC) through on-the-spot investigation, and to provide references for development of key techniques and products for township health centers in medicine allocation and delivery. Methods The questionnaire and the focus interview were carried out, which included the general information, human resources, medical service and management, as well as the practice of essential medicine list. Results a) The hardware conditions of XtC were not good enough, and the income of Lintao county and Gansu provincial government fell short of their needs; b) The General Practitioner (GP)/nurse ratio was higher than that of the national level, the GP/pharmacist ratio was a little bit lower, and the GP/laboratorian ratio reached the national level. There was only one medical technician. There was about 27.5% staff members having no college degree, and about 81% having at most primary profession titles. There were 26 medical workers allocated to XtC in recent two years and only one GP left; c) In 2009, the bed utilization ratio was a little bit higher than the national level (109% vs. 60.7%), while the average length of stay was longer than the national level (6 vs. 4.8); d) The outpatient service in 2010 increased by 17.6% compared to 2009 and the inpatient service in 2010 decreased by 17%; e) The average medical expense per outpatient and per inpatient increased by 23.5% and 14.9%, respectively, in 2010 compared to 2009; f) The essential medicine list (EML) was put into practice in June, 2010. The current count of medicine in hospital was 767, far beyond the EML demand. Conclusion XtC, as a basic rural Township Health Center in Western China, overtakes the burden of healthcare service for local population. The policy of “selecting graduates to work in Township Health Center” made by Gansu government ensures sufficient personnel reserve for rural Township Health Center. XtC needs to cope with challenges of insufficient hardware conditions, unreasonable personnel structure, low educational background and profession title of the staff, and low technical level of medical service. XtC has a big ratio of medicine income and the expense of outpatient is lower than that of the national level. The management of XtC may be influenced by zero-profit price of the essential medicine, and appropriate subsidy and policy support are needed to maintain its service quality. And it is necessary to carry out evidence-based selection of the essential medicine account and develop staff training and essential medicine usage guidance, so as to support the medicine used safely and rationally.
Objective To understand the situation of commonly-used drugs, medical device and their storages in rural households among model well-off township hospitals in eastern, central and western China, and to provide the basis for the guidance of reasonably using and scientifically storing drugs. Methods The methods of combining simple random sampling and cluster sampling were used to investigate and analyze the situation of commonly-used drugs, medical device and their storages in 162 households from three well-off township hospitals in Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Sichuan provinces, respectively. Results The storage rates of commonly-used drugs of rural households in well-off towns were cold medicine (72.2%), wound paste (51.9%), cooling oil (39.5%), essential balm (36.4%), antihypertensive (27.8%), iodine tincture (14.2%), anti-diabetic drugs (13.0%) and other drugs (17.3%). The storage rates of medical devices were thermometer (50.0%), cotton swab (47.5%), sphygmomanometer (9.3%), injector (1.2%) and other devices (22.2%). A total of 66% of respondent families stored drugs and medical devices in a fixed drawer. Only 3.1% families stored drugs and medical devices in the special portable medical kit. Conclusion Rural families have a higher rate of household drugs among model well-off township hospitals in eastern, central and western China, and most drugs are OTC drugs. The storage rates of medical devices are not high. Many rural family-owned medical devices are linked with special chronic diseases in the family. A lot of rural families place drugs and medical devices randomly. There are many security risks, and it may affect the rational utilization of drugs.
Objective To investigate the financial burden of in-patients with thyroid diseases in the West China Hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan province, from January 2011 to December 2012, so as to provide baseline data for further research. Methods The data of in-patients (who had been discharged from the department of endocrinology and metabolism or discharged after being transferred to other departments for diagnosis and treatment in the West China Hospital in 2011) were collected from the Hospital Information System (HIS) of the West China Hospital, including basic information, initial diagnosis when the patients were discharged, hospital costs, the information about whether the patients had been registered the insurance in hospital, etc. We classified diseases according to ICD-10 based on the initial diagnosis when the patients were discharged on the first page of case reports. The data were input using Excel 2010 software, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 13.0 software. Results The results showed that: a) in 2011, 205 person-times were hospitalized in the department of endocrinology and metabolism, of which, 84 were male and 121 were female, with mean age of 45.3±15.7 years; b) for patients with thyroid diseases, median hospital stay was 10 days, the average cost of hospital stay for each patient was RMB 2 881.43 yuan, most of which was for lab tests and examination; c) the person-times of patients with hyperthyroidism was 162, accounting for 79.5% of the total of thyroid diseases, median hospital stay was 10 days, and the average cost of hospital stay was RMB 2 958.36 yuan; and d) there was no association between the number of hyperthyroidism complications and hospital stay and costs. Conclusion Thyroid diseases are a commonly-seen disease in the department of endocrinology and metabolism, of which, hyperthyroidism accounts for the most. There is no association between the number of hyperthyroidism complications and hospital stay/costs.
Objective To investigate the disease constitution of Yaqian Township Health Center (YQT) in Xiaoshan District of Zhejiang Province from 2008 to 2010, so as to provide baseline data for further study. Methods Questionnaire and focus interview were carried out to collect inpatients’ case records from 2008 to 2010. The first diagnoses were classified according to ICD-10, and the data of discharge diagnoses were rearranged and analyzed by using Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0 software. Results a) The total numbers of inpatients were 182, 195 and 248 from 2008 to 2010, respectively; b) The disease spectrum included 9-14 categories, which accounted for 47.6%-66.7% of ICD-10; c) The top 6 systematic diseases accounted for 37.37%-75.39%, which included the circulatory, injury, digestive, respiratory, neoplasms and urinary and reproductive systematic diseases; d) A total of 8 of the top 15 single diseases were the same, including hypertension, great saphenous vein varices, redundant prepuce, lung cancer, fracture, superficial injuries, acute appendicitis, and inguinal hernia; and e) The constitution ratio of the chronic diseases, compared with the acute ones, was higher in 2008, but lower in 2009 and 2010. Conclusion a) In recent three years, the main systematic diseases seen in YQT have been circulatory, injury, digestive, respiratory, neoplasms, and urinary and reproductive systematic diseases. The newly increased diseases in 2010 were pregnancy, childbirth and puerperium. The acute diseases mainly are fracture and injure, while the chronic diseases mostly are hypertension; b) A total of 8 of the top 15 single diseases are the same, indicating the stability of the common inpatients’ diseases; and c) Attention should be paid in future to the chronic diseases management, women’s health and specialized subject construction.