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PERSPECTIVE article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Policy
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1415033
This article is part of the Research Topic Hospital Management and Healthcare Policy: Financing, Resourcing and Accessibility, Volume II View all 8 articles

Perspective: Drivers, Adaptations, and Public Impacts of Hospital Closures: Implications for Policy

Provisionally accepted
Soroush Saghafian Soroush Saghafian *
  • Harvard University, Cambridge, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    A concerning number of hospitals have closed in the US in recent years and there are many other hospitals that are at significant risk of closure in the coming years. The COVID-19 pandemic magnified the trend of hospital closures, raising further concerns about the potential impacts of hospital closures and the important need for devising policies that can mitigate them. To devise such policies, however, we first need to better understand the main drivers, potential adaptations by providers, and the widespread public impacts of hospital closures. We also need to recognize various changes in care delivery modes and related practices. Understanding these complex issues can allow policymakers to shift their focus from the narrow scope of "access to care," and instead take into account various other consequences of hospital closures that are currently largely overlooked but need to be part of policy discussions.

    Keywords: Hospital closures, Public Health, Public Policy, Health Services, Hospital management

    Received: 09 Apr 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Saghafian. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Soroush Saghafian, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States

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