2016 China's Hospital Rankings Released: Information Worth Reading

On November 11th, 2017, the eighth annual “China’s Hospital Rankings” and “Chinese Hospital Specialist Reputation Rankings” were issued by the Institute of Hospital Management, Fudan University. The rankings are not only a power map and reference standard for China’s hospital discipline construction, but also a guide for patients to seek medical care.

The data of the ranking is obvious, but the list goes far beyond that. By combining data changes with interviews, CN-Healthcare tries to present an overall look of the ranking even behind the scenes.

“The Three Giants” are position is firmly established in scientific research

There is no doubt that, “The Three Giants”, or the top three in the “2016 Chinese Hospital Ranking (comprehensive)” are still Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, and Chinese PLA General Hospital.

However, compared with the list of 2015, the total scores of PUMC and West China Hospital, Sichuan University dropped 0.123 and 0.53 points respectively, while the Chinese PLA General Hospital increased by 0.06 points. In addition, the scientific research scores of the hospital’s sustainable development ability are composed of SCI scores and national science and technology awards. It is noteworthy that in the longitudinal comparison of the 2016 annual list, the academic scores of West China Hospital of Sichuan University and the Chinese PLA General Hospital were higher than those of PUMC.

“Stable and Orderly” do not mean immutable

According to a survey conducted by the Institute of Hospital Management of Fudan University in the year of 2016, the ranking of the best specialist reputation hospitals in China was relatively stable in seven years. Based on the statistics, the ranking of 65% - 68% hospitals in the specialist reputation rankings will not change, and less than 2% hospitals’ rankings only change within three places. Therefore, the Fudan version’s ranking list is relatively stable, but stable does not mean immutable.

With the scientific research scores accounting for 20% of the total points, the annual ranking of Fudan Ranking is full of “suspenses”, due to the difference between the annual scientific research achievements, academic papers and award-winning projects of the hospitals. The “sensitivity” of these subtle changes and achievements has led to the formation of a benign competitive landscape among the major hospitals across the country. Further statistics also confirmed that the hospital’s research output has been shown to a “pattern” of either advancement or drawing back, and less advancement means retreat, which means, only by progressing more can the hospitals proceed in the rank.

The hospital’s comprehensive ranking remains unchanged

Another sign of stability is that “the first echelon” of the 2016 list has “no change” compared with 2015. It is because the ranking focuses on the evaluation dimension of “subject”, and the construction of hospital disciplines can not be achieved overnight.

The top 10 hospitals in China’s Hospital Rankings (Comprehensive) are:

1. Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMC)

2. West China Hospital, Sichuan University

3. Chinese PLA General Hospital

4. Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine

5. Xijing Hospital, the Fourth Military Medical University

6. Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University

7. The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University

8. Huashan Hospital, Fudan University

9. Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

10. Peking University First Hospital

What’s more, the score gap between “the first echelon” and “the second echelon” hospitals is widening. For instance, the score of Peking University First Hospital is 4.085 points higher than that of Union Hospital of Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology that ranked the 11th in the list.

No substantial increase, more hospitals keep raising

The biggest dark horse in the 2016 list was undoubtedly Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital which jumped back to the top 100, ranking 86th. But the potential of the counter attack is slightly lower than another dark horse in 2015 -- Zhongda Hospital Affiliated to Southeast University. The latter jumped from the 89th in 2014 to the 53th in 2015, and further to the 47th in 2016.

Behind the continuous rise, in the view of Teng Gaojun, dean of Zhongda Hospital, it is inseparable from the rise of the hospitals peak disciplines. In particular, the Critical Care Medicine has ranked the second in the nation, since the first time into the list last year. Similarly, the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, which has been growing rapidly, ranked the 75th on the 2016 list, achieving a 13 places ahead in two years.

The Eye Hospital of WMU (Zhejiang Eye Hospital) also has eye-catching performance. It has raised from the 96th in 2015 to the 88th in the list. Moreover, Henan Provincial People’s hospital made its first entry, ranking the 97th in the list.

Only better and no best

Since this year, the Fudan hospital ranking no longer lists the “best” for hospitals and specialist rankings.

In the view of Gao Jiechun, the director of the Institute of Hospital Management, Fudan University and founder of the Fudan version’s hospital rankings, although there are many national hospital rankings, it is of different significance due to different dimensions and methods, all of which are of reference value, and we should allow various rankings to coexist. The pros and cons of the rankings should be selected and judged by all sectors of the public. This is the real debate. In this sense, “only better, no best.”

The selection criteria and methods for this year’s list are the same as in previous years, except that the database of accrediting experts has reached a new high, up from 3,960 in 2016 to 4,173. This year, there are 2,657 experts putting forward their “solemn vote” after considering the key factors of disciplinary construction, clinical technology & medical quality, and scientific research in each hospital. The effective response rate rose to 63.67% from 62.88% in 2016. This figure is also far higher than the United States Best Hospital Award (33.5%) which has 28 years of history as well as a normalized ranking practice.