A STUDY ON SECONDARY MEDICAL CARE DISTRICT FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF THE ACCESSIBILITY AND CONSULTATION RATE

A case study on secondary medical district of Tochigi prefecture

Abstract

In recent years, there are many inflow and outflow of patients beyond the boundary of secondary medical care district. Therefore, this study aims to examine the validity of secondary medical care district from the viewpoint of accessibility of patients. The analysis is carried out to evaluate the grade of completeness of consultation behavior in secondary medical care district by measuring the accessibility of patients to medical facilities located in the nearest neighborhood from their residence. As the result, it is revealed that more number of outflows of patients are found in urban areas than mountainous areas. This fact will show the necessity of reviewing current secondary medical care district boundary.