What Determines the Medical Expenses in China?–Evidence from Outpatients Case - Innovative Management in Information and Production - page 328

In region B, all possible determinants except GDP per capita (z8) are effective
determinants and impact nonlinearly as control variables. In region C, the number of
licensed physicians (z4) is the only decisive variable with impact effect of 514.

Second, average treatment number of outpatients for each physician per day (z3),
price index of medical health (z6), urbanization (z10), aging rate (z11), and illiteracy
rate(z12) are control variables and exert indirect impact on average medical expense
in region C.
The identified regional difference in decisive and control variables provides
different policy implication to control average medical expense for outpatients in
different region. Specifically, average treatment number of outpatients for each
physician per day and illiteracy rate should be slightly controlled in region A and
the enrollment of licensed physicians should be increased in region C in order to
control average medical expense for outpatients. Still, the impact effects of indirect
control variables and direct decisive variables on medical expenses remain further
explored for policy implementation.

− 0 .

Acknowledgements This work is supported by the Fifth Chinese National Postdoctoral Special
Sustentation Fund Project (2012T50172), Chinese National Postdoctoral Sustentation Fund Project
(No. 20100480408), Ministry of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences Research for Youth
Scholars (No. 12YJC630279), and Major Project of Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (No.
Z6110519).

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