Healthcare Market Research in China: 7 Key Considerations

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been sharing key insights from our China market expert, Demi Liu, on the healthcare industry in China. We’ve condensed all of the information into seven key takeaways that you should consider before conducting healthcare market research in China:

1. UNDERSTAND WHICH HOSPITALS ARE BEST RESOURCED: Tier 3 and 2 hospitals are the best resourced and often pioneer new policies, drugs, and advanced technologies.
2. NO-GO QUESTIONS: Don’t ask respondents what tier their city is in – just ask them the city name.
3. SAMPLING NEEDS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT LOCAL INSIGHTS: Sample sizes should consider the prevalence of different hospital types – remember that 60% of hospitals are general.
4. CHECK FOR UNCONSCIOUS BIAS: Consider modesty culture and the impact of neutral opinions when reviewing data.
5. TARGET THE RIGHT TIERS: For the majority of studies, you should be targeting higher tier cities.
6. TARGETING BY SETTING IS SPECIALTY DEPENDENT: Target tier three and tier two hospitals, but include both general and specialist settings. By contrast for GP studies, the focus should be on tier one hospitals.
7. CONSIDER WHERE SPECIALISTS ARE LOCATED: HCPs working at community hospitals should not be targeted for specialist studies.

Are you interested in learning more about China’s healthcare industry? Download our China country guide for more information.