Comparison of Hospital Admissions in Two Rural Greek Public Hospitals

Zoe Boutsioli

doi:10.14574/ojrnhc.v10i2.58

Vol. 10 No. 2 (2010)

Research Articles

Comparison of Hospital Admissions in Two Rural Greek Public Hospitals

Published 2012-01-12

Zoe Boutsioli

Zoe Boutsioli
Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER)

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Abstract

This paper estimates demand variability in two rural hospitals in Greece. Three effects are tested: the weekend, the summer holiday and the official holiday. The dependent variable is the daily number of total hospital admissions during 2001-2005. We use the method of Ordinary Least Square. Both hospitals present lower total admissions during official holidays. The seasonal variations are more visible in Trikala, than those in Sparta. For Sparta, the impact is statistically insignificant, while for Trikala is both positive and statistically significant. Weekly seasonal effects can also be observed. For both hospitals, daily total admissions decline on weekends compared to the week days. Hospital managers could be based on that result in order to make as accurate as possible decisions about the staff, supplies and beds needed.

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Author Biography

Zoe Boutsioli

Researcher, Health Research Unit, Athens Institute for Education and Research (ATINER)