[Study on elasticity of medical service demand at the township level in China].

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To find out the economic laws regulating medical service demand in accordance with influencing factors at the township level, thus to provide references for further adjusting the medical service demand reasonably in the future. METHODS: The model of medical service demand was established to measure the elasticity of demand in 49 township health clinics in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007. RESULTS: The price elasticity of outpatient and inpatient demand was stable during the four periods, and the average value was -0.029 and -0.132 respectively; the average value of income elasticity was 0.973 and 0.977, registering a downward trend in general. CONCLUSION: The medical service demand at the township level is price inelastic, indicating that it is a necessity for rural residents. The downward trend of income elasticity under the influence of some health policies illustrates a lightening in economic burden for medical service demand among rural residents in township health clinics.