Factors affecting hospital mortality rate in Iran: a panel data analysis

OBJECTIVE: Hospital deaths account for a large number of community deaths. Moreover, one of the main indicators of inpatient services quality is the hospital death. This study was performed to investigate the factors affecting hospital death rate in Iran using panel data analysis. RESULTS: The net death rates in teaching and not-teaching hospitals were 6.24 and 5.58 per 1000 patients, respectively. Models' estimates showed, in teaching hospitals the number of surgeries (P < 0.05) and special beds (P < 0.01) had a significant positive relationship with death rate. In non-teaching hospitals, outpatient admissions (P < 0.01), number of surgeries (P < 0.05), number of special beds (P < 0.01), and length of stay (P < 0.01) had a positive and the number of inpatient admissions (P < 0.05) and active beds (P < 0.01) had a negative relationship with death rate. Policy-making towards optimization of hospital service size and volume, standardization of length of stay, interventions to control nosocomial infections, and planning to control the complications of surgeries and anesthesia could effectively reduce hospital death rate.