The Effects of County Public Hospital Reform on the Consumption and Costs of Antibiotics: Evidence from a Quasinatural Experiment in Jiangsu, China.

The reform is effective in reducing the consumption and costs of unrestricted and oral antibiotics, but it has failed to reduce the consumption and costs of expensive restricted and injectable antibiotics, leading to increased burden of diseases. It is critical that the health policy initiatives can deincentivize overuse of antibiotics at both hospital and individual physician's levels. The reform should enforce government financial support, improve hospital governance, optimize performance evaluation, and establish specialized management approach for antibiotic use.