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Health service delivery in China: a literature review

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Author Info
Karen Eggleston (UCLA International Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Li Ling (China Center for Economic Research, Peking University, Beijing, China)
Meng Qingyue (Centre for Health Management and Policy, Shandong University, Jinan, China)
Magnus Lindelow (The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA)
Adam Wagstaff (The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA)

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Abstract

We report the results of a review of the Chinese- and English-language literatures on service delivery in China, asking how well China's health-care providers perform and what determines their performance. Although data and methodological limitations suggest caution in drawing conclusions, a critical reading of the available evidence suggests that current health service delivery in China leaves room for improvement, in terms of quality, responsiveness to patients, efficiency, cost escalation, and equity. The literature suggests that these problems will not be solved by simply shifting ownership to the private sector or by simply encouraging providers - public and private - to compete with one another for individual patients. By contrast, substantial improvements could be (and in some places have already been) made by changing the way providers are paid - shifting away from fee-for-service and the distorted price schedule. Other elements of 'active purchasing' by insurers could further improve outcomes. Rigorous evaluations, based on richer micro-level data, could considerably strengthen the evidence base for service delivery policy in China. Copyright © 2007 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, U.S.A. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/hec.1306
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Publisher Info
Article provided by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. in its journal Health Economics.

Volume (Year): 17 (2008)
Issue (Month): 2 ()
Pages: 149-165
Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML, plain text, BibTeX, RIS (EndNote), ReDIF
Handle: RePEc:wly:hlthec:v:17:y:2008:i:2:p:149-165

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Web page: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/5749

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  1. Hart, Oliver & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "The Proper Scope of Government: Theory and an Application to Prisons," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 112(4), pages 1127-61, November.
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  2. Elizabeth Docteur & Howard Oxley, 2003. "Health-Care Systems: Lessons from the Reform Experience," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 374, OECD Economics Department. [Downloadable!]
  3. Elizabeth Docteur & Howard Oxley, 2003. "Health-Care Systems: Lessons from the Reform Experience," OECD Health Working Papers 9, OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. [Downloadable!]
  4. Daniel P. Kessler & Mark B. McClellan, 2000. "Is Hospital Competition Socially Wasteful?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 115(2), pages 577-615, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Liu, Yuanli & Berman, Peter & Yip, Winnie & Liang, Haocai & Meng, Qingyue & Qu, Jiangbin & Li, Zhonghe, 2006. "Health care in China: The role of non-government providers," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(2), pages 212-220, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Meng, Qingyue & Rehnberg, Clas & Zhuang, Ning & Bian, Ying & Tomson, Goran & Tang, Shenglan, 2004. "The impact of urban health insurance reform on hospital charges: a case study from two cities in China," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 197-209, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Winnie Yip & Karen Eggleston, 2001. "Provider payment reform in China: the case of hospital reimbursement in Hainan province," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 10(4), pages 325-339. [Downloadable!]
  8. Sloan, Frank A., 2000. "Not-for-profit ownership and hospital behavior," Handbook of Health Economics, in: A. J. Culyer & J. P. Newhouse (ed.), Handbook of Health Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 21, pages 1141-1174 Elsevier. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. ZHANG, Xiaobo & KANBUR, Ravi, 2005. "Spatial inequality in education and health care in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 16(2), pages 189-204. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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