DOI: 10.37989/gumussagbil.1911278 ISSN: 2146-9954

Digital Hospitals as a Component of Healthcare Digital Transformation: A Bibliometric Analysis

Kerime Güleç, Cansu Hazal Yanardağ, Zeynep Kılıç
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Introduction: Digital transformation extends beyond technological renewal to include the restructuring of care delivery, clinical decision-making, administrative processes, data sharing, and patient experience. In this context, digital hospitals represent integrated structures in which patient data are managed in real time, systems are interoperable, and clinical and managerial processes are supported by data-driven tools. A bibliometric evaluation is needed to map the field’s development, collaboration patterns, and thematic structure. Methods: This study was designed as a retrospective bibliometric analysis. The dataset was obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection between January 12 and February 12, 2026. The keyword “digital hospital” was used to identify publications from 2006 to 2026. Only English-language articles and reviews indexed in WoS Core Collection and focused on digital hospitals were included. Conference abstracts, editorials, book chapters, and non-healthcare studies were excluded. A total of 1,994 publications were analyzed. VOSviewer 1.6.19 was used for keyword co-occurrence, co-authorship, country and institution collaboration, citation, and co-citation analyses. Results: The findings showed a marked increase in publication output, particularly after 2020. Articles constituted the dominant publication type. The United States ranked first in publication productivity, while Türkiye ranked 33rd with 12 publications. Harvard University was identified as the leading contributing institution. Keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed eight thematic clusters, with “digital health” forming the largest and most connected cluster. Country collaboration analysis identified 55 countries in seven clusters, with China, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States occupying central positions. Author collaboration networks were relatively fragmented, and journal citation analysis demonstrated a dispersed, interdisciplinary publication structure. Discussion: The findings indicate that digital hospitals have emerged as a growing interdisciplinary research field. The literature is shaped by digital health, telehealth, artificial intelligence, and data-driven care models, while collaboration patterns remain uneven. Strengthening interdisciplinary and international collaboration may support development. Conclusion: Digital hospitals constitute a rapidly expanding, interdisciplinary, and thematically diverse research field; future studies should prioritize stronger international and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and policymakers should strengthen national digital health strategies and institutional infrastructure to support sustainable digital transformation.

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