title: Shortening length of stay without increasing recidivism on a university-affiliated inpatient unit.
abstract: The impact of reducing length of stay on readmission rates was examined for privately insured patients treated on a traditional inpatient unit or in an alternatives program with a shorter stay and a continuum of acute care. Billing data were analyzed for length of stay and readmission rates for all admissions between 1985 and 1992 (N = 1,363). The traditional unit was reorganized in 1990 into the alternatives program. Although the program decreased mean length of stay from 20.2 days to 6.2 full-day equivalents, overall readmission rates did not increase (17.2 percent, compared with 18.6 percent for the traditional unit). Rates increased for a subgroup of patients with psychotic disorders (from 13.7 to 35.2 percent).
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Colorado Psychiatric Hospital, University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver 80220, USA.
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Giese
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Fryer
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Dubovsky
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shore
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D012189:Retrospective Studies