[Length of stay in medical departments. Similarities and differences in Denmark].
BACKGROUND
The relation between the length of stay after admission to a medical ward, the available resources, and the quality of the results is not well established. There is no documentation that allocation of resources results in improved quality. In Denmark we have recently focused on the quality of cancer treatment and have allocated resources without any evidence that it will improve survival, whereas less attention has been paid to less prestigious diseases. Length of stay can be an indicator of quality, as we operate with an efficient work process as a goal. But it is not a goal by itself, as only when coupled with cure or improvement in the disease can it be worth aiming at. We therefore compared the length of stay in Danish Departments of Internal Medicine to look for differences or similarities. MATERIAL AN METHODS: The homepage of the Danish National Board of Health, www.tal.dk (now terminated) was visited and data drawn for analyses.


RESULTS
Six days seems to be the average length of stay in most departments, with some extreme deviations. A tendency towards a short stay in the department of Cardiology and a long term stay in the Geriatric Department was found as expected, but again extreme deviations were seen.


CONCLUSIONS
No typical pattern was seen in the length of stay. A short stay is not attractive in itself, only when combined with a high quality of care and a healthy economy. Conversely, too short a stay can be risky if it is because of overcrowding and this must be prevented.
Madsen
Flemming F
FF
Intern medicinsk klinik B, H:S Frederiksberg Hospital, Ndr. Fasanvej 57. DK-2000 København. flem-mad@dadlnet.dk
Nørskov
Bente
B
Frølund
Lars
L
D003718:Denmark; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care