Capacity Management in Health Care Services: Review and Future Research Directions

ABSTRACT Health care has undergone a number of radical changes during the past five years. These include increased competition, fixed‐rate reimbursement systems, declining hospital occupancy rates, and growth in health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations. Given these changes in the manner in which health care is provided, contracted, and paid for, it is appropriate to review the past research on capacity management and to determine its relevance to the changing industry. This paper provides a review, classification, and analysis of the literature on this topic. In addition, future research needs are discussed and specific problem areas not dealt with in the previous literature are targeted.