Bed Utilization Rate CalculationUtilization Rate = Number of days all beds were actually in use for the month / Number of days all beds should have been in use for the month.
The bed utilization rate is a reflection of the ratio of beds in use to actual beds per day, i.e., the total number of bed days actually occupied to the total number of bed days actually open.
Analyzing the bed utilization rate and the average bed days can only indicate the workload of the beds, but not the efficiency of the beds. For example, the two doctors in charge of A and B beds as much, and A doctor discharged patients more than B doctor discharged patients 23%, due to A doctor in charge of patients with an average of short hospitalization, and B doctor in charge of patients with an average of long hospitalization, with the discharged occupied by the total number of beds days to calculate the bed occupancy rate, the results of the use of beds in charge of the A doctor is lower than the use of beds under the control of the B doctor.
Thus, the bed utilization rate calculated by this method only increases the degree of bed utilization, but does not improve the actual efficiency of the bed. A high number of bed turnovers in a given period of time indicates that the average number of days a patient is in the hospital is low and the bed utilization rate is high.
The total number of bed days actually occupied should be accumulated from the number of people actually occupying beds every day, based on the daily dynamic statement of each department; the total number of bed days occupied by the discharged is the total number of days of hospitalization of the number of people discharged, based on the number of days of hospitalization of discharged patients in the case, the total number of days of actual occupation is used to calculate the rate of bed use and the average bed work days, and the total number of days of total occupancy of the discharged is used to calculate the average number of days of discharge, two indicators are related to the average number of days of stay in hospital. There is a difference between the two indicators.
Total bed days actually occupied reflects workload dynamics from a bed perspective, while total bed days occupied by discharges reflects workload dynamics from a person perspective. I happened to find out in a document that some hospitals calculate bed occupancy by treating the total number of bed days occupied by discharges as the total number of bed days actually occupied, which leads to a very wrong conclusion.
Standards and Application of Bed Utilization Rates
It is difficult to agree on what the current standard hospital bed utilization rate should be. The Hill-Burton program, which is responsible for hospital development, has long used a bed utilization rate of 85 percent to determine the need for additional hospital beds. The U.S. National Health Plan guidelines set a minimum average bed occupancy rate of 80% for general hospitals, 75% for obstetrics, and 65-75% for pediatrics, depending on size. Bed occupancy rates vary widely from state to state, depending on size or equipment.
However, bed utilization standards are critical to hospital planning. Hospitals can expand or maintain their number of beds based on their actual or projected bed utilization. Programs and management also determine overall bed needs based on bed utilization. For example, one state requires hospitals with more than 150 beds to have an occupancy rate of more than 92 percent before expansion is permitted.
Another state includes a minimum bed utilization rate in setting reimbursement for hospital care. Our domestic public hospitals generally have bed utilization rates of 85 percent or more, with tertiary hospitals generally reaching 90 percent or more. Private hospitals are generally below 80 percent, and the worse are only around 50 percent.
The bed utilization rate and the average bed workday can only indicate the workload of the bed, can not explain the efficiency of the work of the bed. Another example is that the two doctors in charge of A and B beds as much, and A doctor discharged patients more than the B doctor discharged patients 23%, because the A doctor in charge of the patient's average hospitalization days short, while the B doctor in charge of the patient's average hospitalization days long, with the discharged occupying the total number of beds days to calculate the rate of beds, the results of the beds in charge of the A doctor in charge of the rate of use is lower than that of the beds in charge of the B doctor.
The bed utilization rate calculated by this method, therefore, only increases the degree of bed utilization and does not increase the actual efficiency of the beds. As can be seen in Table 2, their bed efficiency is also low. A high number of bed turnovers within a certain period of time indicates that the average number of patient days in hospital is low and the bed utilization rate is high. In the statistical analyses conducted on a daily basis, we usually have to rate the bed utilization rate, the average bed working days, and the bed turnover rate together.