Reallocation of Shafa Hospital Beds in Kerman Using Goal Programming Model

Area of Science:

• Health Services Management
• Operations Research in Healthcare
• Hospital Resource Allocation

Background:

• Effective allocation and utilization of hospital resources, including beds and staffing, are crucial for improving patient health outcomes.
• Inefficient resource distribution can lead to disparities in care and suboptimal hospital operations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reallocate hospital beds at Shafa hospital in Kerman using a goal-programming model.
• To optimize the distribution of hospital beds to meet the demands of various departments.

Main Methods:

• An applied cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing a goal programming model.
• The WinQSB software was employed to optimize bed allocation processes.
• Literature review and expert interviews were performed to identify bed allocation constraints.

Main Results:

• Hospital beds were redistributed according to the goal-programming model's constraints and objectives.
• A shortage of beds was identified in critical departments including burns, general intensive care unit (GICU), heart intensive care unit (HICU), cardiac surgery, emergency, and orthopedics.
• An excess of beds was found in the ear, nose, and throat (ENT), ophthalmology, and neurology departments.

Conclusions:

• Optimal hospital bed allocation, considering hospital activity indicators, can enhance equity in service provision.
• A better distribution of hospital resources is achievable through data-driven modeling approaches.
• The findings provide a framework for improving resource management in hospital settings.