Progress of Plastic and Aesthetic Industry in Mainland China: A National Data Comparison between Public and Private Hospitals
摘要
The expansion of plastic and aesthetic industries is heavily market-driven. With socioeconomic advancement, the plastic and aesthetic industries have experienced extraordinarily rapid growth over the past several decades, exhibiting distinct patterns between public and private hospitals.
MethodsWe collected national data from public and private hospitals across mainland China through the National Clinical Information System (NCIS) and the National Medical Quality Control Platform (NMQCP) for Plastic and Aesthetic Major. Data encompassed hospital profiles, practitioner demographics, inpatient clinical case mix, ambulatory therapeutic modalities, and the consultation rate for aesthetic injection complications.
ResultsAmong public hospitals offering plastic/aesthetic services, 99.20% were general hospitals, while 80.60% of private hospitals were specialized in plastic and aesthetic procedures. We also found significant differences between public and private hospitals regarding physician qualifications, professional backgrounds, inpatient case mix, and ambulatory therapeutic modalities. The consultation rate for aesthetic injection complications was additionally higher in public hospitals relative to private hospitals.
ConclusionBoth public and private hospitals have established plastic and aesthetic specialties with distinct scale characteristics. Driven by greater operational autonomy and their market-driven nature, private hospitals exhibited greater flexibility in development within this specialty and demonstrated a stronger preference for minimally invasive treatments. However, despite their perceived minimal invasiveness, aesthetic injections carried significant complication risks; and particularly, severe cases resulted in substantial physical trauma and financial burdens for aesthetic patients. We recommend that government authorities formulate tailored quality-control measures based on the divergent developmental paths of public and private hospitals to safeguard patient safety.
Level of Evidence IIIThis journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266.