• Med. J. Aust. · May 2014

    A general medical short-stay unit is not more efficient than a traditional model of care.

    • Patrick T Russell, Paul Hakendorf, and Campbell H Thompson.
    • Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide, SA, Australia. patrick.russell@health.sa.gov.au.
    • Med. J. Aust.. 2014 May 5;200(8):482-4.

    ObjectivesTo assess the efficiency of a short-stay unit (SSU) for undifferentiated medical patients and evaluate its effect on the overall efficiency of a general medicine department.Design, Setting And PatientsRetrospective study of all general medical patients admitted to the SSU at Flinders Medical Centre, South Australia, during its 5 years of operation (2005-2009), compared with 4 years before its institution and 2 years after its closure.Main Outcome MeasuresRelative stay index (RSI); inhospital mortality; readmissions within 7 and 28 days.Results23 790 general medical patients were admitted overall, and 10 764 of these (45.2%) were admitted to the SSU. The RSI for the SSU during its years of operation was 0.79, compared with 1.34 for the long-stay unit. The overall RSI for the department did not improve during those years and was not significantly different to the periods before or after.ConclusionsWe found no evidence that an SSU for undifferentiated medical patients creates bed capacity. It does, however, appear to be safe.

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