Against the backdrop of high-quality development of public hospitals, the reform of medical insurance payment methods, and the strengthening of financial supervision, the integration of business and finance has become an important pathway for modernizing hospital governance. Using literature review and normative analysis, this paper systematically examines the theoretical basis, conceptual connotation, and practical pathways of business-finance integration in public hospitals. The study shows that business-finance integration is not merely an issue of data sharing. Rather, it is a composite management proposition involving both “business-accounting” integration and “business-finance” integration. Its core lies in promoting deep linkage among business activities, resource allocation, risk control, and value creation through information system coordination, governance improvement, and process reengineering. Existing practices mainly focus on system integration, governance coordination, and process refinement, while deficiencies remain in conceptual clarification, pathway adaptation, institutional support, and performance evaluation. Future research should therefore strengthen the theoretical explanation of business-finance integration, develop operational evaluation frameworks, and pay closer attention to the role of artificial intelligence, data governance, and institutional change within hospitals.
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Xiu, H., Guo, L., Zhou, W. (2025) Business-finance Integration in Public Hospitals: Theoretical Foundations, Conceptual Boundaries, and Practical Pathways. Hong Kong Financial Bulletin, 1(3), 33-39. https://doi.org/10.71052/hkfb2025/AEHR7299