Appropriateness evaluation protocol: An application in a multi-speciality hospital

Though organizations are concerned with the appropriate use of resources, they find it difficult to identify when the use is appropriate and when it is not. Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) helps them find this out. This study uses AEP in a hospital setting to evaluate appropriateness of use of inpatient bed. It was found that high bed occupancy coexisted with high levels of inappropriate utilization. More than 50 per cent of the inappropriate bed-days were found to be due to reasons that were within the control of the hospital. The AEP approach could be usefully applied to other settings prone to ambiguity, such as eligibility for foodgrains in the public distribution system or for assistance from poverty-alleviation programmes.