Evaluating private hospital performance before and during COVID-19 in China

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a tremendous impact on the global medical system. The development of private hospitals is an important measure to deepen the reform of China's medical and health system, and an important driving force to improve the effective supply of medical services. This study aims to compare the performance of China's private hospitals before and during COVID-19 and determine the factors that affect hospital profitability between the 2 periods. Data are collected from 10 private listed hospitals from 2017 to 2022, and ratio analysis is used to measure hospital performance in 5 aspects, namely profitability, liquidity, leverage, activity (efficiency), and cost coverage. Multiple regression analysis is used to determine the influencing factors of hospital profitability. The results show a negative impact of COVID-19 on private hospital performance. Specifically, regardless of region, hospital profitability, liquidity, and cost coverage were reduced due to COVID-19, while hospital leverage was increased. COVID-19 had also an impact on hospital efficiency. In addition, before COVID-19, current ratio and cost coverage ratio were the determinants of hospital profitability, while only cost coverage ratio affected hospital profitability during the COVID-19 outbreak. We provide evidence that COVID-19 had an impact on China private hospitals, and the findings will aid private hospitals in improving their performance in the post-COVID-19 era.