Evaluation of efficiency of general hospitals in Iran

Approximately 85% of Iranian hospitals are general hospitals. Considering the limitation of resources, improvement of hospital efficiency is an absolute necessity. Efficiency, as the output-input ratio, indicates the use of the lowest amount of inputs to produce the greatest amount of outputs. The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of general hospitals in Iran and identification of the factors affecting the efficiency of the hospitals.

In this cross-sectional and descriptive study we used the Pabon Lasso model and three performance indicators. i.e., bed occupancy rate (BO), the average length of stay (ALS), and hospital bed turnover (BT) to determine the efficiency of the Iranian general hospitals in 2017. Data were analyzed by SPSS software and charts were drawn using Power BI software.

There were 834 general hospitals with 108257 beds in Iran in 2017. The average BO, ALS, and BT were 62.8%, 2.6 days, and 93 times respectively. Only 15% of the general hospitals were located in zone III of the Pabon lasso model and had acceptable efficiency (high BO and BT). Factors such as hospital ownership, type, size, age of hospital building, and staff number were significantly related to hospital efficiency. Private and social security hospitals, non-teaching hospitals, and hospitals with 100-200 beds and 2-4 staff per bed had more efficiency in comparison to the teaching hospitals.

Because of the low efficiency of most general hospitals policymakers and senior managers should take necessary measures for the improvement of the efficiency of the hospitals.