The Relationship between Location of General Hospital and Population

Abstract

Population decrease requires a reorganization of public facilities. Naturally, general hospitals are no exception. This paper deals with the relationship between the location of general hospitals and population distribution in secondary medical service areas. Firstly, we explain the present and future situation of location adjustment of hospitals. Secondly, our study reviews a theoretical model and examines determinants of location choice by estimating a fixed effect model. From the analysis, we found the following: i）The HHI of population is a positive influence for the corresponding hospital, while transportation cost is a negative influence; ii） Financial expenditure by municipality could become an obstacle to restructuring and consolidating general hospitals.