Hospital Length of Stay Reduction: A Long-Term Study
- 1 Hospital Executive Council, Syracuse, NY, USA
- 2 Crouse Hospital, Syracuse, NY, USA
- 3 St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, Syracuse, NY, USA
- 4 Upstate University Hospital—SUNY UMU, Syracuse, NY, USA
Abstract
This study evaluated length of stay reduction for adult medicine and adult surgery in the combined hospitals of Syracuse, New York between 1998 and 2016. The study was based on the All Patients Refined Severity of Illness System. Through this approach, it controlled for changes in the degree of illness of hospital populations. The study data indicated that reductions in adult medicine and adult surgery stays in the Syracuse hospitals between 1998 and 2012 reduced the annual number of excess days compared with severity adjusted national averages by 49,000, or an average daily census of 134.2. It appeared that the shift to reimbursement by discharges initiated by Medicare was a major cause of these reductions. The impact of this change was accompanied by length of stay reduction initiatives by the Syracuse hospitals, especially relating to long-term care. Between January-April 2012 and 2016, additional reductions brought the lengths of stay for adult medicine and adult surgery in the combined Syracuse hospitals close to the national average. The study suggested that remaining opportunities for length of stay reductions in Syracuse involved patients with high severity of illness and those discharged to nursing homes.
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