Variation of Daily Care Demand in Swiss General Hospitals: Longitudinal Study on Capacity Utilization, Patient Turnover and Clinical Complexity Levels

Abstract

While admissions and discharges drive capacity utilization and patient turnover variation, disease severity of each patient drives patient clinical complexity level. Monitoring-and, if possible, anticipating-daily care demand fluctuations is key to managing hospital pressure zones. This study provides a pathway for identifying patients' daily exposure to strained hospital systems for a time-varying causal model.