https://doi.org/10.24552/00002153 ©青森県立保健大学
Factors affecting regional differences in public hospital restructuring and consolidation in the Tohoku region - A Statistical comparison and verification of prefectural and conceptual areas using the list of "424 hospitals" -
Tohru Takizawa, Hiroko Taneichi and Takayuki Kasai
Faculty of Health Science, Aomori University of Health and Welfare
（Recieved March 11, 2020; Accepted May 15, 2020）
ABSTRACT
［Objective］In the Tohoku region, the percentage of public hospitals judged to be in need of realignment is as follows; highest in Miyagi Prefecture ( 19 out of 40 hospitals (47.5%)), while 5 out of 23 hospitals (21.7%) being in Akita Prefecture. The purpose of this study is to identify determinant factors for the differences in the proportion of medical institutions judged to be in need of realignment discussions.
［Methods］We used the "24th Working Group on the Regional Healthcare Concept, Reference 1-2" published in September 2019 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) as a material.Data on the PDF were converted to EXCEL and a statistical analysis was performed by an χ2 test (including residual analysis) and Kruskal-Wallis test.
［Results］The percentage of recovery beds in Akita was significantly higher at 12.1%(p<0.05). There was a difference in the number (rate) of hospitals with a particularly low number of records in the "Emergency Medicine" category. The rate in Miyagi Prefecture was significantly higher (p<0.01) with 23 out of 40 hospitals (57.5%), while that in Akita was significantly lower (p<0.05) with 4 out of 23 hospitals (17.4%). In addition, in a comparison of the areas of Community Health Care Vision, reorganization candidates' public hospitals were associated with hospital density relative to population.
［Conclusions］The nine hospitals of Akita Prefectural Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives for Health and Welfare are responsible for half of the public medical care in Akita Prefecture, and they are also proactive in changing the function of the hospital beds, and emergency medicine. In Miyagi Prefecture, on the other hand, the former municipal hospitals had been required to reorganize and consolidate in connection with the recent municipal mergers. The division, coordination and consolidation of health care providers will reflect the realities of the effected regions.
Key words: Regional Medical Care Visions, comparison between prefectures, the Year 2025 Problem