 |
|
COMMENTS AND OPINIONS
Hospital Study Strength Principally Limited to Analysis of Specific Patient Diagnoses
William Boller, BSE, MS;
Delnora Erickson, BS, MHR;
Courtney Lawson, BS;
Robert Patrick Lennon, JD, BA
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
In their article, Southern et al1 suggest that cost control pressures are a significant motivator for care facilities to endorse hospitalists and identify a reduction in length of stay (LOS) of 0.86 days per patient.1 However, they do not provide an analysis of real cost savings. For many facilities, the cost of a patient is largely fixed at a per-bed-per-day value, such that reducing LOS by anything less than 1 day would result in minimal savings. Furthermore, it is not clear that the LOS savings will be broadly applicable. In the article by Southern et al,1 Table 2 gives a mean (SD) LOS of 5.59 (7.10) days. Data including negative hospital stays indicates that LOS follows a nonstandard distribution, and standard statistical analysis may not be applicable.
Regarding the power of the study, the . . . [Full Text of this Article]
AUTHOR INFORMATION
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLE
Hospitalist Care and Length of Stay in Patients Requiring Complex Discharge Planning and Close Clinical Monitoring
William N. Southern, Matthew A. Berger, Eran Y. Bellin, Susan M. Hailpern, and Julia H. Arnsten
Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(17):1869-1874.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
RELATED LETTER
Hospital Study Strength Principally Limited to Analysis of Specific Patient Diagnoses—Reply
William Southern, Eran Bellin, Matthew Berger, and Julia Arnsten
Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(16):1826.
EXTRACT
| FULL TEXT
|
