Utilization and influencing factors of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Three Provinces in China

Abstract

Background: The annual utilization of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can show trends in the hospital setting and the policy implications. The Chinese government launched a new health care system reform in 2009. The reform focused on reconstructing the public hospitals and expanding primary health care. The objective of this paper is to describe the utilization of MRI services in three provinces of China during the nine years from 2009 to 2017 after the health care system reform and identify the influencing factors.Methods: We collected data from the information system and the database of 46 sample hospitals in three provinces. The approval of the research ethics board was not required as the study involved no individual patient information. The panel data was constructed to calculate the utilization rate. The research team also built the random-effects and the fixed-effect model to analyze the relevant factors.Results: The utilization of MRI services in China increased from 2009 to 2017. The average utilization rate of MRI equipment in the outpatient and emergency was 1.07%, which was relatively stable and far less than that of hospitalization (18.89%). Panel regression analysis indicates that the number of MRI equipment and beds significantly impacts utilization.Conclusion: The study demonstrated a sharply increasing trend of MRI utilization in China since the new medical reform, and also of waiting time brings both clinical benefits and financial burden. It will be possible to set up regional image centers, which may improve the efficiency of existing idle devices, and alleviate the problem of long waiting in tertiary hospitals.