Want... The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in central China's Henan province, reputed to be the largest hospital in the world with 7,000 beds, has caused controversy with its rapid revenue growth, China Economic Weekly reports. The hospital recently posted annual revenue of 7.52 billion yuan (US$1.21 billion) in 2014, a sharp increase from 680 million yuan (US$109.7 million) in 2008 and 6 billion yuan (US$968 million) in 2013. This made it the province's top revenue-producing hospital, compared with the second biggest revenue generator — Henan Provincial People's Hospital — which posted 4.58 billion yuan (US$739 million) in annual revenue in 2014.
An average of 16,000 patients visit the hospital every day with a single-day record of 21,600, or almost four times the number of visits handled by similar medical institutions in the province. In 2014, it handled 4.26 million outpatient visits and 310,000 inpatient admissions. In the same year, it performed 196,000 surgical procedures, the largest number in the country.
The rapid development of the hospital was mainly driven by the need for medical resources for residents in one of China's most populous provinces which has very few large hospitals. The development is also the result of an ambitious expansion plan conceived by the hospital's president Kan Quancheng, a hospital source said.
2012 was a crucial watershed for the hospital as a smart building complex covering 120,000 square meters with the world-class facilities and equipment was put into use. This included computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scanners as well as digital subtraction angiography equipment, a new radiographic technology used in diagnosing vascular disease.
In 2014, the hospital deployed the world's most advanced Da Vinci Surgical System, a sophisticated robotic platform designed to expand the surgeon's capabilities and offer a state-of-the-art minimally invasive option for major surgery. The system is the first of its kind in the province.
Professionals are another factor driving the hospital's growth. The hospital has 6,708 staff, including 723 specialists with a doctoral degree.
However, the hospital was accused of making little in the way of research breakthroughs over the past three years while tilting too much toward seeking economic benefits. In addition, its acquisition of an array of expensive medical equipment is considered a stark reminder of the uneven distribution of resources between medical institutions in the nation.