Germany has introduced the " point method" of fee-for-service at the outpatient departments under a global budget system, in an effort to curb medical expenditure growth. The authors employed the game theory to build a physician′s game model under Germany′s point method, illustrating the causes of " increasing points" behaviors of physicians, the negative effects caused by the increase of points as well as the prevention and control measures employed by Germany and its mechanism. Point method payment has been introduced in several areas in China at their inpatient departments, which is delivered to medical service providers via the performance-based distribution model, with the providers affected in their behaviors. As a result, some areas will tend to appear such " increasing points" behaviors as competing for patients, lowering admission criteria, and raising point value. In view of Germany′s experiences, China should adopt such measures as dynamic monitoring system, disclosure of " increasing points " behaviors, perfection of hierarchical medical system, and strengthening the self-governance via medical sector′s associations.

Objective:To analyze, with Wuhan as an example, the problems found in the infrastructure development of China′s healthcare institutions, and put forward optimization suggestions for future epidemic prevention and control.Methods:From May to June 2020, we surveyed with questionnaires 56 healthcare institutions in Wuhan, covering such aspects as basic information of the institutions, infectious disease infrastructure readiness, and the converted wards for COVID-19. Statistical descriptions were used to analyze data so acquired.Results:The number of beds in the infectious departments of healthcare institutions in Wuhan amounted to 1.64 per 10 000 people, yet the existing 1 873 beds and about 5 000 convertible beds failed to meet the medical needs against the outbreak of COVID-19. After the outbreak, a total of 19 084 convertible beds were set up, of which general hospitals accounted for 88%; the area occupied by each converted bed in traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, hospitals of traditional and Western medicine, and maternal and child hospitals (<30.0m 2) was lower than that in general hospitals and specialist hospitals (>40.0m 2). Conclusions:Healthcare institutions should scientifically allocate " peacetime-wartime adaptive" hospital beds, optimize both the number and efficiency of these beds, and prepare for the worst scenarios, so that the infrastructure can be built and maintained in strict accordance with standards, government departments can rationally arrange infectious disease prevention and control facilities and strengthen their planning in case of emergencies.

Luohu District of Shenzhen has implemented the global budget management mode as " surplus reward, no compensation for overspending and reasonable sharing" in the hospital group, which continued to strengthen cooperation, optimize services, reduce costs, and improve health outcomes. The authors employed the game theory to build a game model of medical alliance under Luohu global budget management mode, discussing the reasons of medical and health institution′s stronger cooperation and what could be improved in Luohu′s case. Based on the experience of Luohu total budget management, it is suggested that when implementing total budget, all localities should improve closed-loop management, expand coverage, adopt compound medical insurance payment method, promote outpatient coordination, strengthen assessment and incentives, so as to give full play to the incentive role of total budget.

Objective:To analyze the impact of global budget on the medical flow treatment and fund allocation in a non-compact medical community based on the symbiosis theory, so as to provide references for relevant authorities to formulate policies for the medical community.Methods:Data on outpatient and emergency visits, discharges, and medical insurance fund usage of the leading hospital and primary medical and health institutions in a non-compact medical community were collected from the health information system of a certain city. The time range of the data spanned from January 2017 to December 2019. The total budget was implemented in April 2018. The symbiotic system of the non-compact medical community was analyzed based on the theory of symbiosis. Descriptive analysis and intermittent time series segmented regression model were used to analyze the changes in indexes related to the flow of medical treatment and fund allocation between the leading hospital and primary institutions under the global budget.Results:The non-compact medical community′s symbiotic system had developed a continuous symbiotic model in organization and an asymmetric reciprocal symbiotic model in behavior. From the perspective of medical treatment flow, the number of outpatient and emergency visits of leading hospital and primary institutions in the medical community showed an upward trend, with little change in the number of discharged patients from 2017 to 2019; The number of patients transferred by the leading hospital increased from 32 in 2017 to 87 in 2019. According to the analysis of the intermittent time series segmented regression model, after the implementation of global budget, the proportion of outpatient and emergency visits in leading hospital was decreased ( β3=-0.43, P<0.05), the proportion of outpatient and emergency visits in primary institutions was on the rise ( β3= 0.02, P<0.05). In terms of fund allocation, the share of health insurance fund of the leading hospital increased from 45.98% in 2017 to 46.51% in 2019, and the primary medical and health institutions decreased from 23.44% to 18.06%, as well as the ratio of per capita income of primary medical and health institutions to that of leading hospitals was decreased from 72.62% to 60.79%. Conclusions:Under the global budget, the outpatient and emergency medical treatment flow in a non-compact medical community had been optimized. However, there was an uneven distribution of funds among medical institutions at all levels. Thus it was recommended to continue to give full play to the positive incentive effect of the global budget, establish a scientific mechanism for distributing benefits, and strengthen supervision and management.

Objective:To understand the incentive effect and influencing factors of the current economic incentive policy for medical alliances in Longhua District of Shenzhen(the alliance for short) on doctors′ willingness to work at primary medical institutions(the primary for short) from the perspective of mental account, and to explore the economic incentive effect of different economic incentive distribution methods on doctors′ willingness to work at the primary.Methods:The questionnaire was designed based on mental account theory. Random sampling was made in November 2019 for a questionnaire survey among doctors in two district-level medical institutions of the alliance in Longhua District of Shenzhen. The purpose was to analyze their inclination to work at the primary and their selection preferences for economic incentive distribution methods under the current economic incentive policy. The data were analyzed by descriptive analysis, and the influencing factors of doctors′ willingness to work at the primary were analyzed by χ2 test and binary logistic regression. Results:A total of 254 valid questionnaires were collected with an effective recovery rate of 90.7%. Among the respondents, 189(74.4%) were willing to work at the primary, 168(66.1%) chose to receive the economic incentives specifically for working at the primary, and 148 people(58.3%) hoped to receive such economic incentives immediately. Education background, self-rated economic income level of doctors and different payment methods of economic incentive for working at the primary had significant effects on their willingness to work at the primary( P<0.05). Conclusions:The current economic incentive policy of the alliance can meet the demands for economic incentives in terms of doctors′ material accounts, and doctors′ overall inclination to work at the primary was strong. If the amount of economic incentives is constant, doctors preferred to receive the economic incentives specifically, mainly affected by income accounts and additional income accounts. In addition, education and self-assessment of economic income level were important factors affecting the willingness of doctors to work at the primary, which may be affected by mental accounts other than material accounts.

BACKGROUNDThe importance of polymorphisms in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene for the prediction of the response to fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy in gastric cancer patients remains unclear. The aim of this study is to assess the predictive value of several polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene for clinical outcomes of gastric cancer patients treated with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy in Chinese population.

METHODSThree hundred and sixty-two Chinese patients with gastric cancer were treated with fluorouracil-based adjuvant chemotherapy. DNA samples were isolated from peripheral blood collected before treatment. The three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1801131, rs1801133, rs2274976) genotypes of the MTHFR gene were determined by matrixassisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).

RESULTSThe average response rate for chemotherapy was 46.7%. Homozygous genotypes rs2274976G/G (χ(2) = 22.7, P < 0.01) and rs1801131A/A (χ(2) = 14.3, P = 0.008) were over-represented in responsive patients. Carriers of the rs2274976A allele genotypes (G/A and A/A) and of the rs1801131C allele genotypes (A/C and C/C) were prevalent in nonresponsive patients. In the haplotype association analysis, there was a significant difference in global haplotype distribution between the groups (χ(2) = 20.69, P = 0.000 124).

CONCLUSIONSThese results suggest that polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene may be used as predictors of the response to fluorouracil-based chemotherapy for gastric cancer patients in Chinese population. Well-designed, comprehensive, and prospective studies on determining these polymorphisms of MTHFR gene as clinical markers for predicting the response to fluorouracil-based therapy in gastric cancer patients is warranted.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic ; therapeutic use ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Female ; Fluorouracil ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) ; genetics ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; Stomach Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; genetics ; Young Adult