A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation

IntroductionAlthough China has made some progress in regulating and governing overtreatment behaviors in healthcare institutions, excessive medical care remains a persistent challenge in the Chinese healthcare sector.MethodsThis study adopts a perspective of bounded rationality and employs evolution...

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Main Authors: Hanxiang Gong, Tao Zhang, Xi Wang, Baoling Wu, Shufang Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Public Health
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1593398/full
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author Hanxiang Gong
Hanxiang Gong
Tao Zhang
Xi Wang
Baoling Wu
Shufang Zhao
author_facet Hanxiang Gong
Hanxiang Gong
Tao Zhang
Xi Wang
Baoling Wu
Shufang Zhao
author_sort Hanxiang Gong
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionAlthough China has made some progress in regulating and governing overtreatment behaviors in healthcare institutions, excessive medical care remains a persistent challenge in the Chinese healthcare sector.MethodsThis study adopts a perspective of bounded rationality and employs evolutionary game theory to construct a collaborative governance model involving government regulatory departments, healthcare institutions, and patients. The model analyzes the strategic stability of each participant and examines the impact of various factors, such as fiscal subsidies, government fines, rectification costs, regulatory costs, reasonable treatment income, and overtreatment income, on the strategic choices of the game participants. Parameter sensitivity within the three-party gaming system is also investigated through simulation analysis.ResultsThe findings indicate that when patients trust treatment outcomes and healthcare institutions are more inclined to provide appropriate care, government regulatory departments tend to adopt a more relaxed regulatory strategy. Simulation results show that increasing government fiscal subsidies, raising reasonable treatment income, and strengthening supervision and rectification efforts are effective in reducing overtreatment behaviors.DiscussionThe decision-making of government regulatory departments is influenced by the degree of patient trust. Improving collaborative governance for overtreatment requires establishing comprehensive laws and regulations, leveraging government regulatory functions, strengthening internal constraint mechanisms in healthcare institutions, and raising patients' awareness of their rights and supervisory responsibilities.
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spelling doaj-art-1abc18e18de147cda6ed2ed2e61f56502025-08-20T03:50:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15933981593398A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulationHanxiang Gong0Hanxiang Gong1Tao Zhang2Xi Wang3Baoling Wu4Shufang Zhao5Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macau Polytechnic University, Macao, Macao SAR, ChinaThe Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, ChinaFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macau Polytechnic University, Macao, Macao SAR, ChinaFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macau Polytechnic University, Macao, Macao SAR, ChinaFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macau Polytechnic University, Macao, Macao SAR, ChinaFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macau Polytechnic University, Macao, Macao SAR, ChinaIntroductionAlthough China has made some progress in regulating and governing overtreatment behaviors in healthcare institutions, excessive medical care remains a persistent challenge in the Chinese healthcare sector.MethodsThis study adopts a perspective of bounded rationality and employs evolutionary game theory to construct a collaborative governance model involving government regulatory departments, healthcare institutions, and patients. The model analyzes the strategic stability of each participant and examines the impact of various factors, such as fiscal subsidies, government fines, rectification costs, regulatory costs, reasonable treatment income, and overtreatment income, on the strategic choices of the game participants. Parameter sensitivity within the three-party gaming system is also investigated through simulation analysis.ResultsThe findings indicate that when patients trust treatment outcomes and healthcare institutions are more inclined to provide appropriate care, government regulatory departments tend to adopt a more relaxed regulatory strategy. Simulation results show that increasing government fiscal subsidies, raising reasonable treatment income, and strengthening supervision and rectification efforts are effective in reducing overtreatment behaviors.DiscussionThe decision-making of government regulatory departments is influenced by the degree of patient trust. Improving collaborative governance for overtreatment requires establishing comprehensive laws and regulations, leveraging government regulatory functions, strengthening internal constraint mechanisms in healthcare institutions, and raising patients' awareness of their rights and supervisory responsibilities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1593398/fullexcessive medical carecollaborative governanceevolutionary gamesimulation analysishealthcare regulation
spellingShingle Hanxiang Gong
Hanxiang Gong
Tao Zhang
Xi Wang
Baoling Wu
Shufang Zhao
A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation
Frontiers in Public Health
excessive medical care
collaborative governance
evolutionary game
simulation analysis
healthcare regulation
title A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation
title_full A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation
title_fullStr A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation
title_full_unstemmed A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation
title_short A study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three-way evolutionary game and simulation
title_sort study on collaborative governance of excessive medical care based on three way evolutionary game and simulation
topic excessive medical care
collaborative governance
evolutionary game
simulation analysis
healthcare regulation
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1593398/full
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