Trends and insights from healthcare utilization in a South Indian teaching institute: A retrospective analysis

To examine gender-specific trends, departmental variations, and inpatient admission patterns across medical and surgical specialties at a newly established tertiary care hospital in South India between 2021 and 2023.

A digital record-based retrospective study was conducted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri, which is a tertiary care hospital and teaching institute located in the Andhra Pradesh state of South India. All patients registered in the Health Management Information System, including patients from the inpatient department (IPD) from January 2021 to January 2023 and the outpatient department (OPD) for the year 2023.

In 2023, a total of 294,736 outpatient visits were recorded, along with 13,922 inpatient admissions over the 3 years from 2021 to 2023. Overall, the total department representation increased from 524 males and 387 females in 2021 to 3212 males and 3985 females in 2023. General Surgery consultations showed substantial growth, with male visits rising from 377 (71.95%) in 2021 to 817 (25.44%) in 2023 and female visits from 224 (57.88%) to 551 (13.83%). IPD admissions tripled during this period, increasing from 1012 in 2021 to 3823 in 2023, with Transfusion Medicine experiencing the highest rise (IRR: 9.77; 95% CI: 8.78-10.9; P < 0.001). A female predominance (54.6%) is recorded in all departments in OPD admissions.

Healthcare utilization at AIIMS Mangalagiri has risen sharply, with marked gender differences across departments. These findings underscore the need for gender-responsive policies, infrastructure expansion, and data-driven planning to optimize tertiary healthcare delivery in India.