The potential geographic accessibility of hospital services in Cluj County

Accessibility to medical services is an essential element for a higher quality of life. In a geographical sense, accessibility relies on location and distance. In the case of health geography, it is concerned with the location of health services and how they serve the health needs of the population. The present study tries to measure the potential access to hospital services for the population of Cluj County, using time and distance records provided by Google Maps API. For the most accurate measurement, two scenarios were considered. Both scenarios take place in heavy traffic conditions at different time intervals. The first scenario represents accessibility values for the morning period, between 09:00 and 11:00. The second scenario represents accessibility during the evening, between 16:00 and 18:00. The results show that Cluj County has good accessibility to hospitals, with over 70% of the population reaching the nearest hospital in less than 30 minutes, especially in Cluj-Napoca and the surrounding localities. The most challenging areas in terms of the accessibility to medical services are mainly in the southwest of the county. The discoveries provide a scientific basis to improve medical access in the mountainous areas of Cluj County.