Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Feb 2004
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialObserved-predicted length of stay for an acute psychiatric department, as an indicator of inpatient care inefficiencies. Retrospective case-series study.
Length of stay (LOS) is an important indicator of efficiency for inpatient care but it does not achieve an adequate performance if it is not adjusted for the case mix of the patients hospitalized during the period considered. After two similar studies for Internal Medicine and Surgery respectively, the aims of the present study were to search for Length of Stay (LOS) predictors in an acute psychiatric department and to assess the performance of the difference: observed-predicted length of stay, as an indicator of inpatient care inefficiencies. ⋯ This study demonstrates the importance of possible predictors of LOS, in an acute care Psychiatric department. The proposed indicator can be readily used to detect inefficiencies.