Exploring the Impact of the Rational Antibiotic Use System on Hospital Performance: The Direct Effect and the Spillover Effect

Shanshan Guo, Wenchao Du, Shuqing Chen, Xitong Guo and Xiaofeng Ju
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Shanshan Guo: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150000, China
Wenchao Du: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150000, China
Shuqing Chen: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150000, China
Xitong Guo: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150000, China
Xiaofeng Ju: School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150000, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-13

Abstract: Irrational antibiotic usage not only causes an increase in antibiotic-borne diseases, but also inflicts pain on patients, as a result of inappropriate treatment. In order to resolve the hazards caused by irrational antibiotic usage, a kind of e-health service, the Rational Antibiotic Use System (RAUS), has been incorporated into the hospital information system. The RAUS provides doctors and patients with the functions of antibiotic usage monitoring, antibiotic information consultation and antibiotic prescription support. Though existing literature has already proved the usefulness of the RAUS on monitoring doctors’ behavior, the effects on hospital performance from an organizational perspective has rarely been measured by empirical data. Therefore, our study has explored the effects of the RAUS on the performance of a large Chinese hospital, which has implemented the RAUS since March 2014. Through empirical research, we quantified the effects of the implementation of the RAUS on a hospital’s performance from both the direct effects on the “drug income” and the spillover effect on the “treatment income”. The results indicate a significant positive spillover effect on the treatment incomes of a hospital in its inpatient activities (seen as significant in the long term) and in its outpatient activities (seen as significant in both the short and long terms). In addition, this research provides certain theoretical and practical implications for the dilemma of e-health services application in irrational antibiotic usage.

Keywords: rational antibiotic use system; e-health services; hospital performance; direct effect; spillover effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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