How do patients move within the Norwegian hospital system? A comprehensive ward- and hospital-level network analysis

The study analysed patient movements within the Norwegian hospital system using data from the Norwegian Patient Registry, which contained 3.6 million registrations and covered hospital care for approximately 55% of the population during one year in 2012. Researchers created a network analysis at the ward and hospital level to understand how patients move between individual wards and hospitals. They found that patient movements create sparse networks with a clear core-periphery structure, with central wards dominated by major hospital referral specialities and medical wards. The analysis showed that central network hubs represent dominant potential pathways for the spread of infectious diseases among patients. The results revealed a robust hierarchical organisational structure of patient movements that can help prioritise epidemiological surveillance.