ObjectiveTo investigate the essential healthcare system performance in Xinjin county of Chengdu city from 2009 to 2010, so as to provide baseline data for further study. MethodsThe general information of the essential healthcare, such as the numbers of out and in-patients, service and profits were collected and then analyzed using the software of Microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0. Resultsa) The results showed that the numbers of out and in-patients were in the rank of the county, township and community hospital. The numbers of out and emergency patients has been decreased 31.0% and 25.3% in the community hospital from 2009 to 2010, while patients in the county and township hospital has been increased. The numbers of in-patients has been increased by year; b) hospital bed occupancy has been increased by year, and the hospital bed occupancy of county hospitals was 8% lower than national level in 2009, 33.5% higher in 2010, the hospital bed occupancy of township hospitals from 2009 to 2010 was higher than national level, the ones of community hospital was lower than national level; c) there is an annual decreasing tendency for average days for hospitalization in county and community hospital, which were higher than national level; d) it was lower than national average rate; e) the inpatient fee per time was lower than national average rate; f) in the components of the in-patients expense, drug expense, operation expense and diagnose expense were constituted more than 86% in all eight costs; and g) the receipts and expenditure of Xinjin hospital throughout the year increased by years, the income and expenses showed 39.3% and 37.7%. ConclusionThe hospital bed occupancy, average hospitalization days and the inpatient fee per time in Xinjin county of Chengdu city during 2009-2010, were higher than national level. The overall health performance of hospitals in Xinjin county was satisfied. However, there was significant difference between the best and the worst. In order to distribute health resources, both benefit and efficient should be emphasized.
ObjectiveTo investigate the distribution of human resources in primary healthcare system of Xinjin county in Chengdu in 2010, so as to provide the evidence for appropriate allocation of health manpower. MethodsWe collected the data of human resources in the regional health information and management platform, and the list of health workers and their registration information. Microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0 software were used to analyze data. Resultsa) A total of 1 551 health workers were in Xinjin primary healthcare system in 2010, including 1 124 in tenure position (accounting for 72.5%) and 427 in contract (accounting for 27.5%). b) In county-level hospital (CLH) or community healthcare centre (CHC) or township hospital (TH), the proportion of health professionals were 83.2%, 79.0% and 80.0% respectively; and 28.8%, 27.2% and 28.7% for registered & assistant doctors; 39.3%, 22.7% and 16.2% for registered nurses; 6.7%, 8.3% and 4.7% for technicians; and 5.9%, 6.8% and 6.9% for pharmacists, respectively. c) Health personnel per 1 000 population in CLH, CHC, and TH were 3.10, 1.98, and 1.92, respectively; health professionals per 1 000 population were 2.58, 1.58, and 1.54, respectively; registered & assistant doctors per 1 000 population were 0.89, 0.54, 0.55, respectively; and registered nurses were 1.22, 0.45, 0.31, respectively. The nurse-to-doctor ratios were 1.36, 0.83, and 0.56 nurses per doctor in CLH, CHC, and TH, respectively. The bed-to-nurse ratios were 0.59, 0.38, and 0.19 nurses per bed respectively. d) Most health professionals were junior professionals (about 60%), in college-level education (about 50%), between 25 to 44 years old (20%-70%), work experience between 5 to 19 years (40%-63%). e) Temporary employees in TH accounted for 46.4%, among which 86.6% younger than 35 years old, 23.4% in internship, and 64.1% at clinical position. Conclusiona) The shortage of health personnel is very obvious in Xinjin county with inappropriate proportions of health professionals; b) The stability of health personnel is challenging due to the large proportion of temporary employees in THs; c) health professionals in Xinjin county features a younger population, and in lower professional positions; d)Therefore, the related policies should be adjusted and innovated to enhance the education and training, to maintain the stability of health personnel and to promote the healthy and sustainable development of primary healthcare services.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the current status of primary healthcare system reform in Xinjin county, in order to provide baseline data for improving the healthcare service system and population health in Chengdu. MethodsPrimary health care services and population health in Xinjin county were quantitatively described and compared. Resultsa) Eleven township hospitals (100%) and 89 village clinics (66.42%) were upgraded according to the national standards. The management of 60 village clinics were integrated with township hospitals. And 417 and 76 essential healthcare services were provided by township hospitals and village clinics, respectively. b) In 2010, the number of outpatients and inpatients in Xinjin county were increased by 24.2% and 46.3% respectively compared to those of 2009, while the costs per outpatient visit and inpatient discharge were reduced by 21.5% and 18.6% respectively. c) In 2010, health records of 98.2% of population in Xinjin county have been established; 96.3% of pregnant women were managed systematically; 98.8% of children immunization programs were implemented; 100% patients with severe mental disorders and about 78% with hypertension and diabetes were in follow-up and treatment; and 28.8% of total population got the free physical exams in 2010. d) The essential medicine accounted for 96.7% of total types of medicines and 97.8% of total expenditure of medicines in primarily healthcare institutions in Xinjin. The cost of medicine management was reduced from 8.5% to 4.2% while the medicine turnover rate was increased by 50%. e) Average life expectancy in Xinjin county was 77.97 years, infant mortality rate was 6.82‰ in 2010; and there was no maternal death in recent 8 years. f) The regional healthcare information system was established covering three-tier rural health care network spanning the county, township and village. Conclusiona) The primary healthcare system reform in Xinjin county improves the infrastructure of primary care system, the utilization of essential medical care, essential public health service, and essential medicines. b) Life expectancy, infant mortality rate and maternal mortality of Xinjin county are better than the average levels in Sichuan province and China. Xinjin county is a representative pilot county for healthcare service system reform in Chengdu city and a nice model to successfully promote healthcare system reform based on regional healthcare information system.
ObjectiveTo investigate the human resources of village doctors for integrated management among township hospitals and village clinics in Xinjing county of Chengdu in 2010, so as to provide the evidence for optimal allocation of human resources in village level. MethodsThe information of village doctors in 2010, such as age, gender, educational level, professional license and work experience, were collected and analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0. Resultsa) In Xinjin county, 213 village doctors were managed by 11 township hospitals (TH) in 2010 with the average of 19 village doctors in each TH; b) only 3 out of 11 THs achieved the national requirement of at least one village doctor per 1 000 rural population; to a greater or lesser extent, the shortage of village doctors existed in the rest 8 THs; c) Among the village doctors, the male-to-female ratio was 2.2 (68.5% vs. 31.5%). The village doctors younger than 45 years, 45 to 59 years, or no less than 60 years accounted for 42.8%, 18.8%, 38.5%, respectively. Those who graduated from secondary schools or elementary schools accounted for 90% (52.6% and 38%, respectively). d) Only 94.8% had the village doctor license. Among the 213 village doctors, only 1.4% and 3.6% were registered doctors or assistant doctors respectively. Those who worked longer than 30 years, 20-29 years, 10 to 19 years, and 5 to 9 years accounted for 44.6%, 12.2%, 29.6% and 6.1%, respectively. ConclusionThe quantity and quality of the village doctors in Xinjin county were insufficient to meet the requirement with aging teams, low education levels, and lack of professional qualifications. Therefore, the related policies should be implemented to maintain the stability of the village doctor teams, to improve the qualification and quality of service, and to promote the sustainable development of primary healthcare services.
ObjectiveCapsule endoscopy (CE) has been widely used in the diagnosis of small bowel disease (SBD) in the world. To bring CE into the national health insurance directory, and intensify its popularization in primary hospitals, the government needs high quality health technology assessment (HTA) evidence for decision making. This study was aimed to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness, safety, applicability and economics of CE in the diagnosis of SBD based on global review, to providing the best currently-available evidence for decision making. MethodsWe electronically searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 8, September 2013), PubMed, EMbase, INAHTA, VIP, CBM, CNKI and WanFang Data. We screened studies, extracted data, and evaluated quality independently, according to inclusion and exclusion criteria; and then we made final conclusion after comprehensive analysis. ResultsWe finally included 4 HTAs, 11 systematic reviews (SRs)/ Meta-analyses, 2 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), 5 guidelines, and 10 economics studies for assessment. The results of HTAs, SRs/ meta-analyses and RCTs all showed that, the disease detection rate of CE was higher than that of many other traditional technologies, and that the main adverse event for CE was retention (0.7% to 3.0%), which were consistent with those of the guidelines' recommendations. Besides, the comprehensive results of economics studies showed the superiority of CE compared with other technologies. As the first choice, CE could significantly decrease potential costs, especially when used in outpatients. Conclusiona) Compared with similar technologies, CE indeed has advantages in diagnostic yield, safety and potential costs in the diagnosis of SBD. However, its application has certain limitations, which still needs to be verified by more high quality evidence about CE diagnosis accuracy. b) It is sug gested that, when the government approves the introduction of CE to hospitals, many factors must be considered, such as local disease burden, clinical demands, ability to pay, and staff configuration. At the same time, it is necessary to standardize training for medical technicians, to reduce economic loss caused by poor technical abilities of medicaltechnicians.
ObjectiveTo rapidly review the effectiveness, safety, costs and applicability of helical tomotherapy (HT), so as to provide currently-available best evidence for decision makers of government health policies. MethodsWe electronically searched databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP, CBM and other relevant professional websites. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, assessed quality, and then performed descriptive analysis. Resultsa) We finally included 150 studies, encompassing 5 health technology assessments (HTAs), 18 clinical controlled trials (CCTs), and 127 observational studies. b) Four included HTAs were published during 2006-2009, providing fairly less evidence of low quality and the results of 145 primary studies showed that:HT was mainly used in the treatments of 14 types of cancer, with relatively low total toxicity and high survival rates. Although the quality of the included studies was poor, there was much evidence about prostate cancer, head and neck cancer, nasopharynx cancer, cervical cancer, lung cancer and liver cancer, with accumulatively enough sample size and fairly reliable results in HT's efficacy and safety. And c) a total of 56 clinical trials had bee registered in Clinicaltrials.gov, most of which were registered by the occident; among them, 9 had been come to the end, yet without results published. ConclusionCurrent evidence of this study showed that, HT is safe and effective in clinic. But the abovementioned conclusion needs to be verified by conducting more high quality studies with long-term follow-up. The costs of HT in procurement, maintenance and application are high; and the skills, training and qualification of operators are required. We suggest that the procurement of HT should be reduced; it should be allocated rationally and effectively used after comprehensive assessment in China's cancer epidemiology characteristics, health resource allocation, disease burden, medical service level, etc.; and also high quality studies with long-term follow-up should be financially supported on the basis of establishing projects, so as to provide local evidence and consistently guide and improve scientific decision making.