Medical Staff

Pediatric hospitalist care cuts costs and LOS, study says

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, October 14, 2008

A staff-only general pediatric hospitalist service can decrease costs and reduce length of stay when compared to a traditional faculty and house staff subspecialty service, according to a new study. The study, “Staff-only pediatric hospitalist care of patients with medically complex subspecialty conditions in a major teaching hospital,” published in the October issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, evaluated 925 pediatric patients with medically complex subspecialty diseases (gastroenterology and hematology/oncology) in 2005 and 2006.

When the faculty and house staff reached their maximum patient census, they turned over the remaining patients to the hospitalist team. The study found that patient length of stay in the hospitalist service totaled an average of 7.2 days, compared to 9.8 days during the non-hospitalist service. Patient costs on the hospitalist service averaged $11,000 versus the higher costs of $16,500 on the non-hospitalist service.

Researchers concluded, “In this era of resident duty-hour restrictions and medical complexity of conditions in inpatients, staff-only hospitalist programs may have a vital role in pediatric teaching hospitals.”

Comments

0 comments on “Pediatric hospitalist care cuts costs and LOS, study says ”

 

Most Popular

Related Articles