productivity of hospital beds: evaluation of inpatient bed days in the west azerbaijan selected hospitals

productivity of hospital beds: evaluation of inpatient bed days in the west azerbaijan selected hospitals     nabilu b [1] , mohebbi i [2] , alinezhad h [3]     received: 19 apr, 2012 accepted: 20 jun , 2012    abstract  background & aims: all over the world, healthcare systems are under intense pressure to improve their performance . the cost of healthcare is a critical issue for employers and patients, and they also constitute the nation’s central financial challenge. hospitals as part of health system command the majority of any countries’ health care budget . decreasing hospitalization time with an increased beds capacity, will lead to improved efficiency and productivity. the aim of this study was to measure inappropriateness of inpatient stays in the west azerbaijan selected hospitals.  materials & methods: in this retrospective study , medical records of 435 hospitalized patients (1536 patient days) were carefully scrutinized based on appropriateness evaluation protocol in selected hospitals . inclusion and exclusion criteria were determined . data using descriptive and inferential statistics such as x2 test were analyzed .  result: the study was carried on in medical-surgical and gynecological wards of different selected hospitals in the west azerbaijan, 435 medical records of hospitalized patients (1536 patient days). the study showed that 6% (92 days) of stay days was medically unnecessary a nd there was a significant relationship between unnecessary hospitalization days and type, affiliation and ownership of hospitals (p<0.05) . the most inappropriate hospitalization days were found in teaching and state-owned hospitals.  conclusion: reducing inappropriate hospital stay increases hospital productivity and decrease waiting list, and at the same time decreases the costs for both hospital and patients . managerial and system factors had a meaningful relationship with unnecessary stay days, showing the importance of management in the health system and its sub-systems such as hospital.  key words: inappropriate hospital stay, appropriateness evaluation protocol, hospital.     address: faculty of health, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia   tel: (+98) 441 2752300   email : [email protected]   [1] assistant professor, phd of health care management, faculty of health, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia.   [2] associate professor, occupationalist, centre for social research, urmia university of medical sciences, urmia (corresponding author)   [3] msc in nursing, inner part of men, emam reza hospital, urmia