A study in Orthopaedic Proceedings investigated whether reduced length of stay is associated with postoperative readmission rates.
The researchers identified 48,760 patients who had undergone total hip or knee arthroplasty and captured data related to length of stay, 30-day postoperative readmission, age, gender and comorbidities. They focused on hospitals that were implementing quality improvement programs targeted at reducing length of stay.
Here's what you need to know:
1. During the course of the quality improvement program, length of stay decreased from a mean of 4.82 days to a mean of 3.90 days — a 0.92-day decrease.
2. When controlling for differences in age, sex and comorbidities, the mean length of stay decreased by 0.32 days.
3. This reduction in length of stay was not associated with higher readmission rates.
The researchers concluded that "quality improvement programs that target reduced LOS can avoid increasing 30-day hospital readmission rates."