hospital performance evaluation using pabon lasso analysis

background and objectives: hospital is the largest and most costly operating unit of healthcare system. provision of optimal care requires that hospital administrators identify hospital performance based on relevant indicators. this study used the pabon lasso analysis to assess the performance of hospitals and identify strategies towards an improved hospital performance.   methods: this cross-sectional descriptive study involved all the eight general hospitals affiliated to tehran university of medical sciences. data on average length of stay, bed occupation and bed turnover rates were collected using questionnaire.   findings: the overall average length of stay, bed occupation and bed turnover rates were 4.78 days, 79.95% and 28.36, respectively. one hospital demonstrated inefficiency and underutilization of resources by falling into zone i, two hospitals located in zone ii, and five hospitals were placed in zone iv. none of the hospitals were located in zone iii which represents a satisfactory level of efficiency.   conclusions: the study showed the studied hospitals have generally low performance as indicated by pabon lasso analysis. the administrators should therefore seek a strategy for balancing average length of stay, bed occupation and bed turnover rates for an improved hospital performance.