Does U.S. Hospital Capacity Need to be Expanded?

Some experts believe that U.S. hospital capacity—especially emergency and inpatient services—is being stretched to its limits. Using data from the Community Tracking Study, the authors examine constrained hospital services, contributing factors, and hospital responses. They conclude that most hospitals had emergency capacity problems, but problems in other areas were not widespread. Although additional capacity may be needed in some markets, better management of existing resources could be a more effective solution.