A new report in the Journal of Perinatology concludes that for neo-natal intensive-care units, longer patient stays may lower costs and improve clinical outcomes.
Duke University researchers and the analytics firm SAS found that in a NICU with the best possible outcomes, the average length of stay was three days longer than in a scenario with poor outcomes, and cost $3 million less per year.
David Tanaka, M.D., a neonatologist at Duke Children’s Hospital and one of the study’s authors, said that the findings suggests that hospitals may be focusing so hard on reducing length of stay that it keeps them from paying sufficient attention to measures more closely tied to clinical outcomes.
To read the report, please hit this link.
To read an overview by FierceHealthcare, please hit this link.
