Proper Understanding and Provision of Regional Medical Care

Abstract

In prefectural medical care project planning stipulated in the Medical Service Law, both centralized management of medical care by bed allocation and comprehension of regional medical care with systematic action are required. First, a correlation was found nationwide between the medical care resources in secondary medical care zones and the intrazonal proportion of inpatients in these zones. This suggests that the intrazonal proportion of inpatients is reflective of the adequacy of these resources, and that bed allocation through medical care planning would contribute to the proper disposition of these resources and fulfillment of the community needs. Since this correlation is weak, however, satisfying zonal needs solely through allocating beds and doctors is probably difficult. Second, we attempted to understand current medical care functions from the circumstances of medical treatment in each branch of medicine in 11 secondary medical care zones in Kanagawa prefecture. A strong correlation was observed between the intrazonal proportion of inpatients, partially reflecting the adequacy of the intrazonal medical care resources, and the administration of medical treatment. This suggests that understanding the ituation of medical treatment is essential for comprehending medical care functions in secondary medical care zones.