Spatial structure and proximity mechanism of cross-city patient mobility networks in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China: Based on patient online evaluation data

Abstract Cross-city patient mobility reflects geographic mismatch in medical resources. However, existing research methods fail to fully capture complex healthcare supply–demand relationships and proximity mechanisms of patient mobility. In this study, we used 500,120 patient online evaluations to construct the 2023 Cross-city patient mobility networks (CPMNs) for the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) and analysed its spatial structure and influencing factors using the healthcare relative size index, dominant association analysis, and exponential random graph models (ERGMs). The results show that (1) there is a double logarithmic linear relationship between healthcare supply and intensity (coefficient of 0.627) and a weak negative correlation between demand and intensity; (2) while the spatial organization of healthcare aligns with administrative boundaries and hierarchies, exceptions are observed in parts of Shanghai and Chongqing's healthcare catchment areas; and (3) geographical proximity, cultural proximity, institutional proximity and social proximity are significant for patient mobility. This research contributes new data and methods to patient mobility studies, and the spatial patterns and factors influencing patient mobility uncovered here provide theoretical and empirical insights for optimizing healthcare resource allocation in the YREB.