ArticleBMC health services research2020
Models and methods for determining the optimal number of beds in hospitals and regions: a systematic scoping review.
Article in BMC health services research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 40 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
40 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Equity in the allocation of hospital beds in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2026Pooled it
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- Forecasting hospital bed occupancy: a time series approach with prophet.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2026Article
- Decomposing the effects of changes of population size, age-sex profile, health status and residual factors on growth in hospital activity in English hospitals: an ecological database study from 2011-2019.BMC health services research · 2025Article
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- Norms for scaling up small and sick newborn care: an overview of reviews.Journal of global health · 2025Review
- Prognostic factors associated with length of stay in children with an acute admission to a pediatric ward: a historical cohort study.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- A scenario-driven simulation approach to sustainable hospital resource management: aging society, pandemic preparedness and referral enhancement.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Can wage changes solve the labour crisis in the National Health Service?The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2025Article
- Impact of robotic-assisted surgery on length of hospital stay in Paris public hospitals: a retrospective analysis.Journal of robotic surgery · 2024Article
- A qualitative study of the barriers and facilitators impacting the implementation of a quality improvement program for emergency departments: SurgeCon.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- An update on the access to inpatient rehabilitation facilities across Tunisia in 2023.La Tunisie medicale · 2024Article
- Merging of two level-1 trauma centers in Amsterdam: premerger demand in integrated acute trauma care.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2024Observational
- Rural-Urban Differences in Healthcare Use in Persons With Dementia Between 2000 and 2019: A Quebec Population-Based Study.Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2024Article
- Rounds Redesign: Our Experience In Splitting Interdisciplinary Rounds.Journal of Brown hospital medicine · 2024Article
- Assessing the Overall Technical Efficiency, Pure Technical Efficiency, and Scale Efficiency of United States Department of Defense Hospitals.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2024Article
- Addressing the Knowledge Deficit in Hospital Bed Planning and Defining an Optimum Region for the Number of Different Types of Hospital Beds in an Effective Health Care System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Fast track to stroke unit for patients not eligible for acute intervention, a case-control register study on 1066 patients.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Flow-Sizing Critical Care Resources.Critical care medicine · 2023Article
- Optimizing inpatient bed management in a rural community-based hospital: a quality improvement initiative.BMC health services research · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDetermining the optimal number of hospital beds is a complex and challenging endeavor and requires models and techniques which are sensitive to the multi-level, uncertain, and dynamic variables involved. This study identifies and characterizes extant models and methods that can be used to determine the required number of beds at hospital and regional levels, comparing their advantages and challenges.
methodsA systematic search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, Embase and PubMed databases, with the search terms hospital bed capacity, hospital bed need, hospital, bed size, model, and method.
resultsTwenty-three studies met the criteria to be included in the review. Of these studies, a total of 11 models and 5 methods were identified, mainly designed to determine hospital bed capacity at the regional level. Common determinants of the required number of hospital beds in these models included demographic changes, average length of stay, admission rates, and bed occupancy rates.
conclusionsThere are no specific norms for the required number of beds at hospital and regional levels, but some of the identified models and methods may be used to estimate this number in different contexts. Moreover, it is important to consider alternative approaches to planning hospital capacity like care pathways to fix the limitations of "bed numbers".
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