Study of the Duration and Causes of Prolonged Stay of Patients after Doctor's Discharge Order in Shahid Faghihi Hospital

Due to the increasing difficulties and resource constraints in the field of health, the optimal use of health care facilities has received great attention. Therefore, using appropriate methods of management to avoid wasting limited hospital resources is of high significance. One of the key tools used as a lever to control and reduce health costs is to shorten the patient's length of stay. Accordingly, investigating the possible causes of prolongation of patients’ stay in the hospital and the proper use of hospital beds are among the most important issues with regard to the use of hospital facilities.
The present study is an analytical-descriptive study, using a cross-sectional method to determine possible causes of prolongation of patients’ stay in the hospital after the issue of discharge order by physicians in Shahid Faghihi Hospital in 2016. The collected data were submitted to SPSS software and analyzed using t-test, Pearson correlation, and chi-square test.
The percentages of the patients who had extended their stay because of financial problems, unwillingness to leave the hospital, absence of insurance staff, lack of companions, lack of health insurance, and transference to other hospitals were 68.4%, 0.7%, 6.2%, 7.1%, 4.4%, and 11.1%, respectively. 
Hospital authorities’ awareness of the average prolongation of patients’ stay in the hospital and the reasons behind that can be effective in decision-making and planning for organizations. Recognizing such problems and proposing solutions to reduce patients’ length of stay and making plans for it can reduce unnecessary and excessive stays and hospitalizations; hence, reducing hospital costs.