What is it about?
• Length of stay (LOS) is not always a good measure of efficiency • Congress in the USA had to stipulate a minimum LOS to protect mothers from too rapid discharge following birth • Some 41% of maternity admissions in England are discharged on the same day as admission • This has seriously distorted the calculation of maternity average LOS • The number of neonatal admissions per 1,000 births in England rapidly rose after 2004/05 when the real maternity LOS dropped below 1.8 days • Costs and the consequences of LOS-induced inefficiency have simply been shifted to another specialty
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Why is it important?
Over-enthusiastic reduction in LOS can be both harmful and cost-inefficient. This is yet another example of ignorance regarding the benefits of adequate bed provision leading to higher efficiency and lower costs
Perspectives
Part of a longer series relating to health care trends, costs, and efficiency which can be accessed at http://www.hcaf.biz/2010/Publications_Full.pdf
Dr Rodney P Jones
Healthcare Analysis & Forecasting
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This page is a summary of: Maternity length of stay efficiency and neonatal admissions, British Journal of Healthcare Management, March 2018, Mark Allen Group,
DOI: 10.12968/bjhc.2018.24.3.122.
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