Occupancy, average length of stay and ARPOB explained

Listed hospital groups report a handful of operating measures every quarter. Each answers a different question, and they are most useful read together and over time for the same group.

Occupancy

Occupancy is the share of available bed-days that were used. Divide occupied bed-days by available bed-days and multiply by 100. A hospital with 100 beds open for 30 days has 3,000 available bed-days. If 2,100 of them were used, occupancy is 70 per cent.

Average length of stay (ALOS)

ALOS is the average number of days an inpatient stays. Divide occupied bed-days by the number of discharges in the same period. In the example, 2,100 occupied bed-days and 600 discharges give an ALOS of 3.5 days.

Average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB)

ARPOB is inpatient revenue divided by occupied bed-days, usually expressed per day. If the 2,100 occupied bed-days earned 14,700,000 in inpatient revenue, ARPOB is 7,000 per occupied bed-day.

Why groups are not directly comparable

Each group defines its own measures. Some count operational beds and others census beds; some include outpatient or pharmacy revenue in ARPOB and others do not; some report ARPOB per day and others per year. The Bed board shows each figure as the group reports it, with its definition and source, and we do not rank one group against another.

Try the figures in the Bed board calculator on the homepage.