Assessment of Smartness Status in Public Hospitals and Its Relationship with Characteristics and Performance Indicators

Background: the need for smartification is increasingly recognized in public hospitals, making it crucial to identify the current status, gaps, and factors influencing hospital smartness. objectives: this study aimed to assess the smartness status of public hospitals and investigate its correlation with hospital characteristics and performance indicators. methods: this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in seven public hospitals in alborz province, iran, during 2023 - 2024. we assessed the characteristics and performance indicators of the hospitals using a researcher-developed questionnaire and evaluated their smartness status with the standardized smart hospital evaluation checklist. data analysis was performed using spss24 software, utilizing independent t-tests, pearson's correlation, spearman's correlation, and analysis of variance (anova) tests. results: the smartness status of the hospitals was found to be moderate, with 71% of hospitals falling into this category. a significant correlation was observed between the smartness of hospital units, the type of hospital (teaching or non-teaching), and the hospital's specialization (specialized or general) (p = 0.013). significant and direct correlations were also found between information technology and hospital units (p = 0.043), management systems and clinical processes (p = 0.008), and overall smartness and clinical processes (p = 0.049). conclusions: public hospitals need improvements in smartness indicators. factors such as whether the hospital is teaching or non-teaching and whether it is specialized or general should be taken into account. moreover, hospital smartification efforts should adopt a comprehensive approach, considering all dimensions of smartness.