OBJECTIVES:

The study aimed to quantify spatial accessibility to inpatient services in Beijing and to assess accessibility improvements following the completion of the medical institution reconstruction and expansion in 2025.

METHODS:

The 2019 health statistics report, medical institution reconstruction and expansion lists from Beijing Municipal Health Commission and the 2019 community based population data were collected. To begin, we obtained the names, addresses, and beds of healthcare institutions. Second, we computed the proportion of local patients in secondary and tertiary hospitals using data from each hospital's patient source. Thirdly, we analyzed the spatial accessibility of local residents to inpatient services using the enhanced two-step floating catchment area (E2SFCA) method in an ArcGIS 10.5 environment.

RESULTS:

The average number of beds available per 1,000 people was 3.03, while the median was 2.90. 285 (81.20%) of the communities fell short of Beijing's threshold for medical resource allocation planning. Accessibility was re-calculated using population estimates in 2025, which included reconstruction and expansion of medical facilities. Inpatient service accessibility grew in 289 communities (82.34%), with 98 communities experiencing an increase of more than 50%. 32 communities maintained roughly similar accessibility (change of less than 0.005), whereas 29 communities’ accessibility decreased. Inpatient services were more commonly accessible in the central city than in the suburbs and exurbs.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results of the proposed model show that the community-level spatial accessibility to inpatient services shows a significant disparity, and the uneven distribution of general hospitals is the main cause. In comparison to Beijing's guideline for medical resource distribution planning, the total medical sources are insufficient when considering external patients from other provinces. Accessibility to inpatient services has improved in Beijing with the reconstruction and extension of medical institutions, with the majority of improvements occurring in the southern and eastern suburbs.