Intercity patient mobility can improve healthcare accessibility and equality in metropolitan areas: A case study of Shenzhen metropolitan area, China

Healthcare accessibility and equality have attracted extensive attention, but few in metropolitan areas, which are characterized by intense intercity connections. Despite of the policy focus on intercity patient mobility in metropolitan areas, the quantitative impact of intercity patient mobility on healthcare accessibility and equality remains understudied. This study develops a comprehensive framework to quantify such impacts by comparing two scenarios (i.e., intercity and intracity) of accessibility to existing and optimized healthcare services. A two-step optimization method, integrating efficiency and equality, is applied to optimize healthcare resources. These analyses are conducted within the context of the Shenzhen metropolitan area. The results reveal that intercity patient mobility can improve efficiency and equality of healthcare accessibility to existing services by 8% and 6%, respectively. Furthermore, optimization that considers intercity patient mobility can improve healthcare accessibility efficiency and equality by 37% and 19% compared to the status quo. The framework and methods developed in this study are valuable for measuring and optimizing healthcare accessibility in metropolitan areas, which is transferrable to other areas with significant regional disparity. This study also provides quantitative evidence of the positive effects of intercity patient mobility on healthcare efficiency and equality in metropolitan areas, which is fundamental for policymaking and planning.