The impact of implementing the Health Transformation Plan on the performance of hospitals affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran Province, Iran

Objective (s): 

The Health Transformation Plan, initiated in 2014 in Iran and sought to protect public assets, promote equitable access to healthcare services, and enhance service quality. This study evaluated the performance indicators of hospitals affiliated with a medical university before and after the implementation of the plan.

This cross-sectional study encompassed 15 teaching medical centers affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran province, Iran from 2009 to 2019, consisting of five years prior to the implementation of the plan (pre-2014) and five years following its implementation. Seven key performance indicators, including bed occupancy rate, length of stay, admission ratio, number of hospitalized patients, number of hospitalized referrals, number of surgeries, and number of cesarean sections, were investigated as primary variables.

The majority of performance indicators exhibited significant increase after the implementation of the Health Transformation Plan, with the exception of the number of cesarean sections and median length of hospital stay. Individual hospital analysis revealed a decrease in median length of stay in most hospitals post-implementation, while the median values of other performance indicators generally showed an increase across different hospitals. Notably, Imam Hossein, Taleghani, and Loghman Hakim hospitals had the highest number of registered beds.

The implementation of the Health Transformation Plan demonstrated a relatively positive impact on the performance indicators of hospitals, resulting in favorable changes in trends and medians of these indicators from 2015 to 2019.