Although there is a wealth of research on operations management and strategic planning in hospitals, there has been little if any research on the integration of these two issues. Hospital administrators are being pressured to improve the quality of services and to curb costs – two primary themes within the field of operations management. This leads us to wonder to what extent operations are considered within the strategic planning process and what impact it may have. By surveying the literature, we identify a pattern in hospital management research, and
identify articles which address the operations capabilities of quality, flexibility, delivery and cost control. These articles can serve as a springboard for research in hospital operations strategy, an area that is largely neglected in the literature. We also provide examples of how
hospitals are addressing operations capabilities, and conclude with implications for hospital administrators and a research agenda for researchers.