Health Systems in Transition - Hungary - World Health Organization ...

4. Physical and human resources
4.1 Physical resources
4.1.1 Capital stock and investments
According to statistics from the HCSO, Hungary had a total of
175 hospitals in 2009. Altogether, these hospitals had 71 489 beds, of
which 71 064 were in operation (HCSO, 2010d). These statistics, which
are based on the NHIFA annual report for 2009, require some clarification
(NHIFA, 2010).
First, the total number of hospitals does not include institutions without an
NHIFA contract (i.e. the one private, profit-making hospital and one of the
two hospitals owned by the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice, the
so-called prison hospital at Tököl). Adding the 708 beds operated by these two
institutions to the total number of beds cited above brings the total inpatient
capacity in 2009 up to 72 197 beds.
Second, although same-day surgery is considered acute inpatient care in
Hungary and is paid through HDGs, it can also be performed by outpatient
specialists (see section 5.4). As a result, the 175 or 177 hospitals cited above
include 22 polyclinics that do not have any contracted inpatient capacities.
Third, according to the minimum standards of health service provision set
by the Minister of Health (now known as the State Minister for Health) in
1996 and 1997, inpatient care providers with less than 80 beds should not be
classified as hospitals (2003/15). There were 30 such providers in 2009.
Thus, if we exclude the 22 polyclinics, as well as the 30 providers with
less than 80 beds, there were in reality only 125 hospitals that year. Here, it
is important to note that so-called daytime hospitals are also not included in
the NHIFA report; these hospitals represent an emerging form of care that is
4. Physical and human resources