Sustainable Healthcare Development in Romania: Comparative Cluster Analysis of Hospitalisation Indicators from 2019 and 2023 Highlighting Regional Disparities

This study analyses hospitalisation services for acute and chronic patients in Romania, comparing data from 2019 and 2023.Using K-means clustering and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) on data from the National Institute for Health Services Management, the research identifies and compares regional clusters based on hospitalisation indicators and socio-demographic variables.The results for 2019 indicate the presence of four clusters that highlight regional disparities in terms of hospitalisation patterns.Bucharest is part of its own cluster, suggesting its distinct health infrastructure, taking into consideration that this is the capital of the country, being the most developed area, with the greatest potential, but also unique problems.In 2023, there were three main clusters indicating of a possible reduction in disparities when it comes to hospitalisation services at the county level.The results also show that there were significant variations among the groups with respect to insured cases, age distribution, and rural-urban divide.These findings show that public health policies should be carefully designed to address these regional disparities and ensure equitable access to healthcare for everyone.