Does U.S. hospital capacity need to be expanded?

Abstract

Some industry experts believe that U.S. hospital capacity--especially emergency and inpatient services--is being stretched to its limits. Using data from the Community Tracking Study, this paper examines constrained hospital services, contributing factors, and hospitals' responses. Most hospitals studied had emergency capacity problems, but problems in other service areas were limited to only a few hospitals. Hospitals have added or converted capacity, improved capacity management, dealt with nursing shortages, and worked with public officials to reduce emergency department diversions. Although additional capacity might be needed in some markets, better management of existing resources could be a more effective solution.