Rethinking LOS: focus on process improvement and the days will drop.
Some experts say the increasing emphasis on length of stay as a measure of quality improvement has obscured the need to develop efficient and effective process improvements. Indeed, some argue that length of stay shouldn't be a concern. If your process improvements work, lengths of stay will take care of themselves. Focusing specifically on length of stay reduction won't necessarily lower your costs; indeed, it may just shift the costs to another part of the delivery system. Even Milliman & Robertson, the Seattle-based actuarial firm made infamous by its length-of-stay guidelines, emphasizes the need to judge case individually and to make allowances for patients with comorbid conditions.
D019090:Case Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003363:Cost Control; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006739:Hospital Administration; D007902:Length of Stay; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States