To the content
3 . 2022

COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to rethink policy «optimization» of hospitals

Abstract

The SARS-CoV2 pandemic has become a challenge to the national health systems of all countries. Statistics for 2020 show the impressive success of Taiwan, Japan and South Korea in confronting COVID-19. Without waiting for mass vaccinations, in 2020 these countries have minimized deaths from coronavirus infection and economic losses.

Aim – to identify the factor of high provision of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan with the resources of inpatient care, which is significantly higher than in most developed countries.

Material and methods. Used a comprehensive, statistical, comparative and retrospective analysis of the available data.

Results. The analysis showed that over the past few decades Japan, South Korea and Taiwan did not reduce, but increased the provision of hospital beds and did not prioritize accelerated discharge of patients from hospitals, which did not prevent their health systems from demonstrating high rates of economic efficiency, and in a pandemic, to ensure hospital care for all those in need.

Conclusion. It is necessary to study the experience of these countries and revise the doctrine prevailing in most developed countries and Russia, which postulates the need to reduce (so-called «optimization») hospital beds by reducing the patient’s stay in the hospital as a prerequisite for the economic efficiency of healthcare.

Keywords:healthcare efficiency; COVID-19; hospital bed capacity; average hospital stay; Japan; South Korea; Taiwan

Funding. The article is based on the results of research carried out at the expense of budgetary funds under the state assignment of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Contribution. Research concept and design, writing the text, statistical data processing, editing – Ragozin A.V.; research concept and design, writing the text, collection and processing of material, compilation of the list of literature, editing – Grishin V.V.; collection of statistical data, tabular and graphical presentation of the results, analysis of the results, editing – Glazunova S.A.; collecting statistical data, compiling a list of references – Lin Sh.T.

For citation: Ragozin A.V., Grishin V.V., Glazunova S.A., Lin Sh.T. COVID-19 pandemic as a reason to rethink policy «optimization» of hospitals. ORGZDRAV: novosti, mneniya, obuchenie. Vestnik VSHOUZ [HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT: News, Views, Education. Bulletin of VSHOUZ]. 2022; 8 (3): 56–66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2411-8621-2022-8-3-56-66 (in Russian)

References

1. Drobot E.V. World economy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: results of 2020 and prospects for recovery. Ekonomicheskie otnosheniya [Economic Relations]. 2020; 10 (4): 937–60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18334/eo.10.4.111375 (in Russian)

2. Kostin K.B., Khomchenko E.A. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy. Ekonomicheskie otnosheniya [Economic Relations]. 2020; 10 (4): 961–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18334/eo.10.4.111372 (in Russian)

3. Zimovets A.V., Khanina A.V. One year of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19: analysis of the results. Ekonomika, predprinimatel’stvo i pravo [Economics, Entrepreneurship and Law]. 2021; 11 (5): 1035–46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18334/epp.11.5.112114 (in Russian)

4. Chookajorn T., Kochakarn T., Wilasang C., et al. Southeast Asia is an emerging hotspot for COVID-19. Nat Med. 2021; 27: 1495–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-021-01471-x

5. Southeast Asia Kept COVID-19 Under Control For Most of the Pandemic. Now It’s Battling Worrying New Surges. Time [Electronic resource]. URL: https://time.com/6046172/southeast-asia-covid/ (date of access November 20, 2021)

6. Caballero-Anthony M. COVID-19 in Southeast Asia: Regional pandemic preparedness matters. Brookings [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/01/14/covid-19-in-southeast-asia-regional-pandemic-preparedness-matters/ (date of access November 28, 2021)

7. Soon S., Chou C.C., Shi S.J. Withstanding the plague: institutional resilience of the East Asian welfare state. Soc Policy Adm. 2021; 55 (2): 374–87. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/spol.12713

8. Kang JaHyun, Jang Yun, Kim JinWha, Han Si-Hyeon, Lee Ki, Kim Mukju, et al. South Korea’s responses to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. Am J Infect Control. 2020; 48 (9): 1080–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.06.003

9. Chiu Wen-Ta, Laporte R.P., Wu J. Determinants of Taiwan’s early containment of COVID-19 incidence. Am J Public Health. 2020; 110: 943–4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305720

10. Wang C.J., Ng C.Y., Brook R.H. Response to COVID-19 in Taiwan: big data analytics, new technology, and proactive testing. JAMA. 2020; 323 (14): 1341–2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.3151

11. Kuo Chun-Chien. COVID-19 in Taiwan: economic impacts and lessons learned. Asian Economic Papers. 2021; 20 (2): 98–117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00805

12. Tashiro A., Shaw R. COVID-19 pandemic response in Japan: what is behind the initial flattening of the curve? Sustainability. 2020; 12: 5250. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su12135250

13. Sayeed U.B., Hossain A. How Japan managed to curb the pandemic early on: lessons learned from the first eight months of COVID-19. J Glob Health. 2020; 10 (2): 020390. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.10.020390

14. Suppasri A., et al. Perceptions of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan with respect to cultural, information, disaster and social issues. Prog Disaster Sci. 2021; 10: 100158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2021.100158

15. Botto K. The coronavirus pandemic and South Korea’s global leadership potential. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace [Electronic resource]. URL: https://carnegieendowment.org/2020/12/15/coronavirus-pandemic-and-south-korea-s-global-leadership-potential-pub-83408 (date of access November 01, 2021)

16. Chen S.C. Taiwan’s experience in fighting COVID-19. Nat Immunol. 2021; 22: 393–4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-021-00908-2

17. Person B., Sy F., Holton K., Govert B., Liang A. Fear and stigma: the epidemic within the SARS outbreak. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004; 10 (2): 358–63.

18. Yoo K.J., Kwon S., Choi Y., Bishai D.M. Systematic assessment of South Korea’s capabilities to control COVID-19. Health Policy. 2021; 125 (5): 568–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2021.02.011

19. Shimizu K., Negita M. Lessons learned from Japan’s response to the first wave of COVID-19: a content analysis. Healthcare (Basel). 2020; 8 (4): 426. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040426 PMID: 33114264; PMCID: PMC7711542.

20. Chang Y.T., Lin C.Y., Tsai M.J., Hung C.T., Hsu C.W., Lu P.L., et al. Infection control measures of a Taiwanese hospital to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2020; 36 (5): 296–304. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/kjm2.12228

21. Cheng T.-M., Propper C. How has Taiwan navigated the pandemic? Health, Physical Mental. 2021; Dec 1. [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.economicsobservatory.com/how-has-taiwan-navigated-the-pandemic (date of access November 26, 2021)

22. Saltman R.B., Figueras J. (ed.). Health system reforms in Europe. Analysis of modern strategies. Transl. from English. Moscow: GEOTAR Meditsina, 2000. (in Russian)

23. Vitikainen K., Linna M., Street A. Substituting inpatient for outpatient care: What is the impact on hospital costs and efficiency? Eur J Health Econ. 2010; 11: 395–404. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-009-0211-0

24. Shishkin S.V. Reform of the financing of Russian health care. In: Scientific works of the Foundation «Institute for Economic Policy named after E.T. Gaydar». 2000; (25). [Electronic resource]. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/reforma-finansirovaniya-rossiyskogo-zdravoohraneniya (дата обращения: 29.11.2021) (in Russian)

25. The healthcare system: what can be changed today. In: V.V. Omel’yanovsky (ed.). Moscow: Nauka, 2021: 72 p. (in Russian)

26. Letter of the Ministry of Health of Russia, FFOMS dated March 25, 2020 N 11-8/i/2-3524/4059/30/i «On the provision of medical care in case of a disease caused by COVID-19». (in Russian)

All articles in our journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0 license)

CHIEF EDITOR
CHIEF EDITOR
Guzel E. Ulumbekova
MD, MBA from Harvard University (Boston, USA), Head of the Graduate School of Healthcare Organization and Management (VSHOUZ)

Journals of «GEOTAR-Media»