The efficiency of the use of the bed fund in Federal districts

Introduction. The priority direction of reforming the national healthcare system is to improve the quality and accessibility of medical care against the background of the rational and effective use of resources of medical institutions.

Purpose of research. To identify reserves in optimizing the bed Fund based on evaluating the effectiveness of its use on the territory of the Federal districts of Russia.

Material and methods. The study used analytical, logical, and statistical methods. The primary material on the number of beds and indices of their use from 2016 to 2018 was taken from the statistical collections of the Ministry of Health of Russia.

Results. The study found the ongoing reform of inpatient medical care to be characterized by a reduction in the number of hospital beds and their availability to the population, a reduction in the average number of days of the bed use per year and the average number of days of the patient stay in the bed and an increase in bed turnover. To determine the effectiveness of the use of the bed Fund, it is advisable to use the method of comparing the number of hospitalized patients, calculated as the product of the number of deployed beds on the average number of days of the bed use per year, divided by the average number of days of the patient stay in the bed, by alternately (isolated) replacing existing indices with planned values.

Discussion. Rational reform of the bed Fund can be carried out with the widespread use of effective management methods in health care practice, the development of outpatient clinics, and the introduction of inpatient replacement technologies. Increasing the average number of days of bed use per year should be aimed at reducing unscheduled waiting times for the next hospitalization of the patient. Reducing the average length of stay of patients in a bed should be carried out taking into account the requirements of medical standards and clinical recommendations (treatment protocols).

Conclusions. The main reserves for improving the efficiency of the use of the bed Fund are increasing the average number of days of the bed use per year to the target of 340 days and optimizing the average length of the stay of patients in a bed, taking into account the achievements of medical science and practice.