Health Policy Manag.
2016 Sep;26(3):233-241. 10.4332/KJHPA.2016.26.3.233.
Effects of Spatial Accessibility on the Number of Outpatient Visits for an Internal Medicine of a Hospital
- Affiliations
-
- 1Big Data Steering Department, National Health Insurance Service, Wonju, Korea.
- 2Department of Health Administration, Yonsei University Graduate School, Wonju, Korea.
- 3Department of Health Administration, Yonsei University College of Health Sciences, Wonju, Korea. planters@yonsei.ac.kr
- KMID: 2358021
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.4332/KJHPA.2016.26.3.233
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
This study purposed to analyze and understand how spatial accessibility of patients influenced the number of outpatient visits for the internal medicine of a hospital.
METHODS
A hospital with 100 beds in Seoul, South Korea provided data from 2013 January 1 to 2013 June 30. Euclidean distance and road ares were used to represent the spatial accessibility. Patient level data and dong level data were collected and used in spatial analysis. Dong level data was converted into grid level (500×500 m) for the multivariate analysis. Hot-spot analysis and generalized linear model were applied to the data collected.
RESULTS
Hot-spots of outpatient visits were found around the study hospital, and cold-spots were not found. Number of outpatient visits was varied by the distance between patient resident and hospitals, and about 80% of total outpatient visits was occurred in within the 5 km from study hospital, and 50% was occurred in within 1.6 km. Spatial accessibility had significant influences on the outpatient visits.
CONCLUSION
Findings provide evidences that spatial accessibility had influences on the patients' behaviors in utilizing the outpatient care of internal medicine in a hospital. Results can provide useful information to health policy makers as well as hospital managers for their decision making.
Keyword
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- A Study on the Spatial Accessibility to the Psychiatry Department in General Hospital and Its Relationship with the Visit of Mental Patients
- Analysis on the Effects of Particular Matter Distribution on the Number of Outpatient Visits for Allergic Rhinitis
- The analysis of patient visit pattern in a university hospital before and after implementation of health care delivery system
- Changes in mental health service utilization before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a nationwide database analysis in Korea
- An Application of Discrete Probability Models to the Number of Outpatient Visits
