Investigating the Impact of Inter-City Patient Mobility on Local Residents’ Equity in Access to High-Level Healthcare: A Case Study of Beijing
The equitable allocation of healthcare resources reflects social equity. Previous studies of healthcare accessibility have overlooked the impact of inter-city patient mobility on local residents’ and local residents’ multi-mode travel choices, distorting accessibility calculation outcomes. Taking th...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/14/7/260 |
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| Summary: | The equitable allocation of healthcare resources reflects social equity. Previous studies of healthcare accessibility have overlooked the impact of inter-city patient mobility on local residents’ and local residents’ multi-mode travel choices, distorting accessibility calculation outcomes. Taking the area within Beijing’s Sixth Ring Road as an example, this study established a Multi-Mode Accessibility Model for Local Residents (MMALR) to tertiary hospitals, using the proportion of non-local patients to adjust hospital supply capacity and considering the various travel mode shares from residential communities to hospitals to calculate the number of potential patients. We compared the changes in geospatial accessibility under different travel modes and employed the Gini coefficient to evaluate the geospatial equity of accessibility for different regions when using different accessibility methods. The results indicate that the spatial distribution of healthcare accessibility via different methods is similar, and it gradually decreases along subway lines from the urban center to the periphery. We found that the equities in access to high-level healthcare for Dongcheng District, Xicheng District, the area between the Third and Fourth Ring Road, and the area between the Fourth and Fifth Ring Road, display different ranking results across different methods, revealing that an unreasonable analysis framework could mislead the placement decisions for new hospitals or the allocation of medical resources. These findings emphasize the impact of inter-city patient mobility and the diversity of travel mode choices on accessibility. Our model can assist stakeholders in more accurately evaluating the accessibility and equity of local residents in terms of tertiary hospitals, which is crucial for cities with abundant medical resources and superior conditions. Our analytical findings provide a scientific basis for the location decisions of tertiary hospitals. |
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| ISSN: | 2220-9964 |