Hospital management indicators

This work addresses the theme of hospital management indicators from the viewpoint of their utility for timely management decision making, based on the analyses made of them. The study was performed at three hospitals in Maracaibo, Venezuela, during the period 1996-2002; the approach to the object of study began with exploratory investigation, previous and posterior empiric bibliography, through an effort at participant observation using professional work-study periods. It was shown that in the hospitals studied, indicators referring to their capacity, productivity and efficiency were calculated; nevertheless, no apparent link was found between management decisions and the information extracted from them.