Public health service delivered by public hospitals in China: function analysis and policy advices

Hospitals, especially public hospitals, are an important part of the public health service system. To clarify public health functions of secondary and tertiary public hospitals in China and provide evidences for related health policy decisions, this article introduced the public health services of hospitals in the United States, Britain, Australia and Canada, and then analyzed public health functions of secondary and tertiary public hospitals in China through literature review and case study. The authors summed up eight kinds of public health service functions, and put forward policy advices to promote the performance of public health functions of public hospitals in China. Key words: Hospitals, public; Public health; Functions; Policy advice