China Healthcare Improvement Initiative(2015—2017): findings and suggestions from the 3rd round evaluation

Abstract

Objective To assess the effectiveness of China Healthcare Improvement Initiative from 2015 to 2017. Methods The 3rd round evaluation was conducted from December 2017 to January 2018 at 136 tertiary public hospitals, and the results were compared with the previous two surveys.Hospital Questionnaire, Patient Questionnaire and Doctor-Nurse Questionnaire were designed and administered by experts, onsite investigators and self-administered cellphones respectively.Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results In 2017, the hospital performance scoring of these hospitals was 91.77%, which rose steadily from 2015 and 2016.Significant dimensions scoring the highest included the appointment system, rational allocation of medical resources and IT use.Overall patient satisfaction remained over 90% with both outpatients and inpatients.Defects however remained in such areas as long waiting time, insufficient communication between doctors and patients.Heavy workload was common among medical staff, in addition to poor staff welfare and poor health, resulting in declining job satisfaction. Conclusions The Initiative has made significant progress in the past 3 years, while there still remain some important challenges.Substantial improvement of the welfare and job satisfaction of medical profession deserves a top priority in healthcare reform in the future. Key words: Health services administration; China Healthcare Improvement Initiative; Third round; Evaluation