住院率是衡量医疗服务利用水平、观察医疗保障制度运行状况及医疗资源配置情况的重要指标。不同国家及不同数据来源在统计对象、事件边界、机构覆盖范围等方面存在差异。本文从国际比较视角出发,分析我国住院率的定义、统计来源及其与OECD国家住院率指标的可比性,并结合结构因素与制度因素,探讨我国住院率的相对水平及其形成机制。研究发现,我国不同统计来源之间的住院率存在差异;在调整统计口径后,我国住院率虽较原始值有所回落,但仍高于多数可比国家,日间病例和重复住院可在一定程度上解释这一偏高现象。基于老龄化、经济发展水平和床位供给三个维度的国际比较,我国住院率高于多数可比国家,说明其相对位置不能仅从人口结构、发展阶段或资源供给角度加以解释,还需结合制度因素进行深入分析。总体而言,我国住院率在国际比较中的相对高位,是统计口径差异、重复住院、医疗资源扩张与制度激励共同作用的结果。

The hospitalization rate is an important indicator for measuring the utilization of healthcare services, observing the operation of healthcare security systems, and assessing the allocation of medical resources. Differences exist across countries and data sources in terms of statistical objects, event boundaries, and institutional coverage. From an international comparative perspective, this paper analyzes the definition and statistical sources of China’s hospitalization rate, as well as its comparability with the hospitalization rate indicators of OECD countries. Combining structural and institutional factors, it explores the relative level of China’s hospitalization rate and its underlying mechanisms. The study finds that hospitalization rates vary among different statistical sources in China. After adjusting the statistical definitions, China’s hospitalization rate decreases from its original value but remains higher than that of most comparable countries, with day cases and repeated hospitalizations partially explaining this phenomenon. From a long-term trend perspective, the hospitalization rates of most OECD countries are either slowly declining or stabilizing at high levels. In international comparisons based on aging, economic development level, and bed supply, China’s hospitalization rate is higher than that of most comparable countries, indicating that its relatively high level cannot be fully explained by demographic structure, development stage, or resource supply alone, and requires further analysis of institutional factors. Overall, the relatively high hospitalization rate observed for China in international comparisons is the result of differences in statistical definitions, repeated hospitalizations, medical resource expansion, and institutional incentives.