Bed utilization fluctuations at a university hospital in eastern saudi arabia and their impact on hospital cost

As the demand for and complexity of inpatient care increases and hospital beds become more and more expensive and difficult to obtain, the appropriate use of hospital beds becomes increasingly important. The aim of the present study was to assess the actual hospital capacity and to study fluctuations in hospital occupancy rate during the year 2002 at a University Hospital in Eastern Saudi Arabia, and their impact on hospital cost. Results of the present study showed that 61 beds were not conforming to the standard definition of hospital beds; constituting 15.6 % of the actual hospital capacity. Wellborn nursery cribs and delivery beds accounted for the majority of these beds (82.0%). The present study revealed low average hospital occupancy rate in 2002 (62.0%) together with fluctuations in the average occupancy rates of all departments ranging between 30.9% and 77.0%; coefficient of variation ranges from 0.11 to 0.92. The observed low occupancy rate resulted in wasting of a large proportion of the hospital fixed costs amounting to 133, 591, 943 Saudi Riyals. Recommendations for improving the occupancy rate of the hospital and reducing its fluctuations are presented.