Table 1.
Characteristics of participating institutions and patients
| Characteristics | Control group | Intervention group | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary care institutions | ||||
| Sample size | 10 | 10 | ||
| Average population serviced (10,000) | 4.04 (1.80) | 3.83 (1.43) | ||
| Number of beds | 65.60 (19.61) | 60.00 (21.73) | ||
| Number of doctors | 28.30 (7.42) | 26.30 (8.54) | ||
| Outpatient visits per year | 50199.60 (29236.49) | 49108.20 (23171.97) | ||
| Inpatient admission per year | 1348.60 (499.95) | 1482.20 (703.11) | ||
| Drug sales revenue per year (10,000 Yuan) | 188.87 (100.01) | 150.78 (49.66) | ||
| Variety of drugs in stock | 307.60 (145.97) | 377.10 (172.55) | ||
| Percentage (%) of drug sales in total revenue | 35.73 (21.52) | 25.42 (14.89) | ||
| Average revenue per doctor (10,000 Yuan) | 22.46 (8.90) | 27.01 (8.94) | ||
| Patients with prescriptions for URTI | Pre-intervention | Post-intervention | Pre-intervention | Post-intervention |
| Sample size | 7294 | 10369 | 4378 | 12774 |
| Average age (years) | 23.41 (22.52) | 23.25 (23.73) | 22.36 (22.83) | 24.39 (24.48) |
| Proportion of male patients (%) | 47.92 | 51.10 | 50.18 | 48.76 |
| Proportion of patients enrolled with NCMS | 81.81 | 87.36 | 84.65 | 87.40 |
Notes: Data are presented as % or mean (standard deviation) unless otherwise stated. The characteristics of primary care organisations were drawn from the 2012 data before the intervention started. NCMS, New Cooperative Medical Scheme; URTI, Upper respiratory tract infection.