Does having a usual primary care provider reduce patient self-referrals in rural China's rural multi-tiered medical system? A retrospective study in Qianjiang District, China

• Main Authors: Da Feng (Author), Donglan Zhang (Author), Boyang Li (Author), Yan Zhang (Author), Ray Serrano (Author), Danxiang Shi (Author), Yuan Liu (Author), Liang Zhang (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: BMC, 2017-11-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Abstract Introduction Within China's multi-tiered medical system, many patients seek care in higher-tiered hospitals without a referral by a primary-care provider. This trend, generally referred to as patient self-referral behavior, may reduce the efficiency of the health care system. This stud...