The health care manager
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The health care manager · Oct 2012
Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative StudyHospital bed utilization by teaching and nonteaching medical services.
A study was undertaken to determine whether hospital bed utilization is different between teaching and nonteaching hospitalist services. During a 2-year period, the average length of stay (ALOS), case-mix index, readmissions within 30 days of discharge, and percentage of 1-day stays were compared between these services. To ameliorate confounders, the ALOS was recalculated (ALOS revised) after excluding patients with length of stay of more than 20 days and those originally admitted to the intensive care unit. ⋯ The mean percentage of readmissions within 30 days of discharge and 1-day stays were not significantly different between group 1 and groups 2 and 3. Hospital bed utilization in the teaching service was superior to the nonteaching hospitalist services. Further research should explore the reasons for the differences between these models of care.