ArticleHuman resources for health2023
Nephrology workforce in China: describing current status and evaluating the optimal capacity based on real-world data.
Article in Human resources for health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Post-graduate nephrology education in China: structure, workforce gaps, regional disparities, and the emerging role of critical care nephrology.Renal failure · 2026Review
- Spatially heterogeneous and nonlinear factors influencing intercity patient mobility for chronic kidney disease: a nationwide study in China.npj health systems · 2026Article
- Effects of social determinants of health on the landscape of kidney disease.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2026Review
- Temporal-spatial distribution characteristics and associated socioeconomic factors of medical expenditures for rural patients with chronic kidney disease in Fujian Province, Southeast China.International journal of health geographics · 2026Article
- A multidimensional model of ethical challenges in hemodialysis: a qualitative study for specialist physicians.BMC medical ethics · 2025Article
- China Kidney Disease Network (CK-NET) 2017-2018 Annual Data Report.Kidney international supplements · 2025Article
- Care for end-stage kidney disease in China: progress, challenges, and recommendations.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Review
- Expanding the global nephrology workforce.Nature reviews. Nephrology · 2024Article
- Guideline Concordance of Chronic Kidney Disease Testing Remains Low in Patients with Diabetes and Hypertension: Real-World Evidence from a City in Northwest China.Kidney diseases (Basel, Switzerland)Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
objectiveThis study aims to characterize the current status of the nephrology workforce in China and evaluate its optimal capacity based on real-world patient mobility data.
methodsData on nephrologists in China were collected from two prominent online healthcare platforms using web crawlers and natural language processing techniques. Hospitalization records of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) from January 2014 to December 2018 were extracted from a national administrative database in China. City-level paths of patient mobility were identified. Effects of nephrology workforce on patient mobility were analyzed using multivariate Poisson regression models.
resultsAltogether 9.13 nephrologists per million population (pmp) were in practice, with substantial city-level variations ranging from 0.16 to 88.79. The ratio of nephrologists to the estimated CKD population was 84.57 pmp. Among 6 415 559 hospitalizations of patients with CKD, 21.3% were cross-city hospitalizations and 7441 city-level paths of patient mobility with more than five hospitalizations were identified. After making adjustment for healthcare capacity, healthcare insurance, economic status, and travel characteristics, the Poisson regression models revealed that the number of nephrologists in both the source city (incidence rate ratio [IRR] 0.99, per 1 pmp increase) and destination city (IRR 1.07, per 1 pmp increase) were independently associated with patient mobility. An IRR plateau was observed when the number of nephrologists exceeded 12 pmp in the source city, while a rapidly increasing IRR was observed beyond 20 pmp in the destination city.
conclusionsThe nephrology workforce in China exhibits significant geographic variations. Based on local healthcare needs, an optimal range of 12-20 nephrologists pmp is suggested.
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