Key result
Length of hospital stay had a nonlinear relationship to in-hospital cost of care, with the last day of stay contributing only 2.4%-3.2% of the total charge.
Why the study?
Although studies show that reducing length of stay yields cost savings, whether length of stay has a nonlinear relationship with cost of care remained unverified.
Population
853 adult patients admitted under General, Neuro, and Orthopedic surgery with LOS 4 to 14 days
Comparison
Operated vs conservatively managed patients across varying lengths of stay
Design
Observational cohort study
Authors
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LOS reduction may not meaningfully lower costs in surgical patients; leaves open the nonlinear relationship and need for prospective validation.
Observational (n=853)
Reducing postoperative length of stay yields diminishing cost savings, as the bulk of hospital costs are incurred on the day of surgery.
Hashmi et al. (2024) conducted an observational in Surgical admission (General, Neuro, Orthopedic) (n=853). Length of hospital stay was evaluated on In-hospital cost of care. Length of hospital stay had a nonlinear relationship to in-hospital cost of care, with the last day of stay contributing only 2.4%-3.2% of the total charge.
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