Objective  To investigate the status of resources and utilization of medical service in poverty-stricken areas in China and to provide references for the improvement of medical service in the areas.

  Methods  Data on medical service in 798 poverty-stricken counties across China during 2015 were extracted from Network Direct Reporting System for Basic Information of Health and Family Planning. Key indicators for medical service were determined using expert consultation method and analyzed with descriptive methodology.

  Results  Among all the hospitalized patients covered by New Rural Cooperative Medical System (NCMS), 35.37% were admitted into the hospitals located in the administrative regions other than the poverty-stricken counties. For all county hospitals in the poverty-stricken areas, 92.05% got counterpart support provided by tertiary hospitals. For all the poverty-stricken areas in 2015, the coverage rate of contracted medical service was only 77.68% among the poverty-stricken populations; the average number of medical institutions was 263; the average total number of medical staff was 1 302; the average number of beds per 1 000 population was 3.68; the average hospital stay days for hospitalized patients was 7.45; the average beds utilization rate was 78.94%; the average annual number of outpatient visit per capita was 2.9; and the annual hospitalization rate was 5%.

  Conclusion  Poor capability and low efficiency of medical service and deficient medical resources allocation are major problems for medical service in poverty-stricken areas in China. Counterpart support to grassroots medical institutions, contracted medical service for residents, and reasonable allocation of medical resources need to be strengthened to upgrade medical service and its utilization in the areas.