Prioritizing Key Factors in Establishing Micro-hospitals in Iran

Introduction: New concepts in the field of planning for healthcare centers are noteworthy. One type of healthcare centers which was brought up and emphasized in terms of efficiency in recent years are micro-hospitals. Considering the ability of micro-hospitals to provide effective availability of healthcare services, elicitation and prioritization of key factors in establishing of these healthcare centers in Iran seems necessary. Methods: In this library-descriptive study, the population consisted of 16 experts in hospital planning and design who were selected purposefully. After reviewing 53 resources and conducting library studies related to the micro-hospitals to compare them with the current healthcare centers in Iran, the key factors in establishing micro-hospitals were selected and prioritized in an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) by the population. Results: The two factors of “easy access for users and increasing the job efficiency of healthcare staff (due to the low number of patients)” were the factors the highest importance. Conclusion: It was found that easy access, possibility of attracting patients on a local scale, and higher speed with job efficiency of employees, as well as lower construction costs (due to the small scale of the complex), were the factors with the highest priorities among the key factors. Accordingly, it seems that this idea can be a proper solution to promote the healthcare service level in Iran.