Assessment of the supply/demand balance of medical resources in Beijing from the perspective of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Considering the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the need for a balanced spatial distribution of urban medical resources capable of perspective of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, i.e. providing continuous and accessible medical services during potential public health emergencies, we assessed accessibility and service capacity of the three hospital levels in Beijing. Using geographical information systems (GIS) and the two-step floating catchment area method with the street as research unit, we found that there is an over-supply of medical resources in the centre of the city with weaker support in the peripheral areas as manifested by less supply in relation to popular demand of medical services. The spatial distribution of hospitals at all levels and their resources was found to be uneven: 82.4% of the residents can reach a tertiary hospital (a hospital offering advanced specialized medical and health services to multiple regions) within a 15-minute drive; 50.6% can reach a secondary hospital (a hospital offering comprehensive medical and health services to various communities) within a 10-minute drive; and 77.6% can reach a primary hospital (a hospital directly delivering prevention, medical treatment, healthcare, and rehabilitation services to the community of a certain population) within a 15- minute walk. It was noted that the supply/demand balance of medical resources in the tertiary hospitals decreases from the centre to the periphery, while the secondary hospitals show a dual-centre pattern and the primary hospitals a more uneven distribution, with oversupply in the East and the opposite in the Centre. The results of the study provide supplementary decision support for improving the hierarchical diagnosis and treatment system and accelerate the overall deployment of medical resources.