Patient length of stay, patient readmission rates and the provision of professional interpreting services in healthcare in Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1643-1650
Author(s):  
Jonathan Beagley ◽  
Jim Hlavac ◽  
Emiliano Zucchi
2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. S122-S123
Author(s):  
D.S. Burstein ◽  
C. Connelly ◽  
C.S. Almond ◽  
R.A. Niebler ◽  
J.A. Godown ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
H. Thomas de Burgh ◽  
Jeremy McCabe ◽  
Kamal Gupta

Background: Length of stay (LOS) on admission to psychiatric intensive care in the UK varies widely, with few studies examining the relationship of LOS to clinical outcomes. Data from two South London male PICUs delivering care with the contrasting philosophies of rapid turnover versus slower stepdown were investigated to determine if additional LOS correlated with clinical benefit.Method: Data on admissions to the PICUs were collected over six months and assessed for outliers and then for variance using Levene’s test. The variables were compared using independent samples t-tests. Pearson correlations were alsocalculated for the major variables.Results: Mean LOS was 8.4 days higher on PICU 1 (p = 0.026) and readmission rates to hospital 6 months post discharge were 27% higher on PICU 1 (p = 0.025). There were no strong correlations between LOS on either PICU and the other five variables examined.Conclusion: It was intuitive to expect better outcomes in the PICU with a slower turnover where complex patients could receive an extended period of re-evaluation of pharmacological treatments and engagement with services and could achieve a fuller recovery from the episode. However, this group had no reduction in LOS following step-down to the wards, readmission rates to PICU during in the index episode or re-hospitalisation six months following discharge. The PICU with a policy of rapid-turnover, concentrating on reducing acuity and risk and rapid step down, was equally effective on the measures evaluated.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 166-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdisamad M Ibrahim ◽  
Cameron Koester ◽  
Mohammad Al-Akchar ◽  
Nitin Tandan ◽  
Manjari Regmi ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the accuracy of the HOSPITAL Score (Haemoglobin level at discharge, Oncology at discharge, Sodium level at discharge, Procedure during hospitalization, Index admission, number of hospital admissions, Length of stay) LACE index (Length of stay, Acute/emergent admission, Charlson comorbidy index score, Emerency department visits in previous 6 months) and LACE+ index in predicting 30-day readmission in patients with diastolic dysfunction. Heart failure remains one of the most common hospital readmissions in adults, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. Different models have been used to predict 30-day hospital readmissions. All adult medical patients discharged from the SIU School of Medicine Hospitalist service from 12 June 2016 to 12 June 2018 with an International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis of diastolic heart failure were studied retrospectively to evaluate the performance of the HOSPITAL Score, LACE index and LACE+ index readmission risk prediction tools in this patient population. Of the 730 patient discharges with a diagnosis of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), 692 discharges met the inclusion criteria. Of these discharges, 189 (27%) were readmitted to the same hospital within 30 days. A receiver operating characteristic evaluation showed C-statistic values to be 0.595 (95% CI 0.549 to 0.641) for the HOSPITAL Score, 0.551 (95% CI 0.503 to 0.598) for the LACE index and 0.568 (95% CI 0.522 to 0.615) for the LACE+ index, indicating poor specificity in predicting 30-day readmission. The result of this study demonstrates that the HOSPITAL Score, LACE index and LACE+ index are not effective predictors of 30-day readmission for patients with HFpEF. Further analysis and development of new prediction models are needed to better estimate the 30-day readmission rates in this patient population.


Vascular ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Shutze ◽  
William P Shutze Jr ◽  
Purvi Prajapati ◽  
Gerald Ogola ◽  
Jordan Schauer ◽  
...  

Objective Postoperative pain following lower extremity revascularization procedures is traditionally controlled with narcotic administration. However, this may not adequately control the pain and puts the patient at risk for complications from opiate use. Here we report an alternative strategy for pain management using a continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic into the operative limb. Design Retrospective case–control study. Methods Patients undergoing lower extremity revascularization procedures using continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic were compared to similar patients undergoing similar procedures during the same time period who did not receive continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic. Records were reviewed for pain scores, narcotics consumption, length of stay, need for postoperative chest X-ray, supplemental oxygen use, wound complications, and 30-day readmission. Results There were 153 patients (mean age 69.5 years) from September 2011 to December 2014 who underwent common femoral artery procedures, femoral-popliteal bypass, femoral-tibial bypass, popliteal aneurysm repair, popliteal to pedal bypass, popliteal artery thrombo-embolectomy, sapheno-popliteal venous bypass, or ilio-femoral bypass. There were no significant differences between the continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic ( n=57) and control ( n=96) groups regarding age, body mass index, cardiac history, diabetes, hypertension, and procedures performed. The continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic group showed better cumulative average pain scores, better high pain scores on postoperative days 1–3, and better average pain scores on postoperative days 2–3 ( P<0.03). The continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic group had lower median narcotics consumption on postoperative days 1–2 ( P=0.02). No differences were found in postoperative length of stay, urinary catheter use, number of postoperative chest X-rays, oxygen use, mobilization, or fever. Wound complications occurred in 8.8% of the continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic group and in 11.5% of controls (P=0.79). Readmission rates were 23% (continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic) and 21% (controls; P=0.84). Conclusion Postoperative continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic reduces pain scores and pain medication use compared to standard opiate therapy in these patients, without increasing wound complication or readmission rates. Continuous catheter-infused local anesthetic appeared to have no effect on the incidence of pulmonary complications, mobilization, or fever.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (5) ◽  
pp. 471-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary-Haston Leary ◽  
Kathryn Morbitzer ◽  
Bobbi Jo Walston ◽  
Stephen Clark ◽  
Jenna Kaplan ◽  
...  

Background: Despite widespread recognition of the need for innovative pharmacy practice approaches, the development and implementation of value-based outcomes remains difficult to achieve. Furthermore, gaps in the literature persist because the majority of available literature is retrospective in nature and describes only the clinical impact of pharmacists’ interventions. Objective: Length of stay (LOS) is a clinical outcome metric used to represent efficiency in health care. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of pharmacist-driven interventions on LOS in the acute care setting. Methods: A separate samples pretest-posttest design was utilized to compare the effect of pharmacist interventions across 3 practice areas (medicine, hematology/oncology, and pediatrics). Two time periods were evaluated: preimplementation (PRE) and a pilot period, postimplementation of interventions (POST). Interventions included targeted discharge services, such as discharge prescription writing (with provider cosignature). Participating pharmacists completed semistructured interviews following the pilot. Results: A total of 924 patients (466 PRE and 458 POST) were included in the analysis. The median LOS decreased from 4.95 (interquartile range = 3.24-8.5) to 4.12 (2.21-7.96) days from the PRE versus POST groups, respectively ( P < 0.011). There was no difference in readmission rates between groups (21% vs 19.1%, P = 0.7). Interviews revealed several themes, including positive impact on professional development. Conclusion and Relevance: This pilot study demonstrated the ability of pharmacist interventions to reduce LOS. Pharmacists identified time as the primary barrier and acknowledged the importance of leaders prioritizing pharmacists’ responsibilities. This study is novel in targeting LOS, providing a value-based outcome for clinical pharmacy services.


2003 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 1784-1789 ◽  
Author(s):  
LINDSAY B. GREEN ◽  
RICARDO PIETROBON ◽  
ELIZABETH PAXTON ◽  
LAURENCE D. HIGGINS ◽  
DONALD FITHIAN

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