A physician-centred intervention to shorten hospital stay: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND Studies of length of stay (LOS) in hospital usually focus on physician-independent factors. In this study, the authors identified physician-dependent factors and tested an intervention aimed at them to determine its effect on LOS. METHODS A prospective comparison of LOS on 2 general medical wards in a tertiary care teaching hospital before and after the intervention. The pre-intervention (control) period and the intervention period were each 4 weeks. The intervention consisted of a checklist for planning management and discharge. RESULTS Overall, the mean LOS was shorter during the intervention period than during the control period, but the difference was not statistically significant (12.0 and 14.4 days respectively, p = 0.13). The difference was significant on ward A (11.0 v. 14.7 days respectively, p = 0.02) but not on ward B (13.0 and 14.0 days respectively, p = 0.90). INTERPRETATION An intervention at the level of the admitting physician may help to shorten LOS on a general medical ward.