The Effect of Length of Stay in Hospital on Patients' Health Outcomes: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

ABSTRACT: The causal effect of hospital length of stay on crucial patient outcomes such as readmissions or mortality is under-investigated and therefore unknown for the vast majority of the US population. Existing evidence stems from association studies that are unable to draw causal conclusions. This study leverages Medicare's two-midnight (2MN) and three-day (3D) rules as two natural experiments to establish causal relationships between hospital length of stay (LOS) and patient outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental regression discontinuity design with data from a large US hospital, we find that the 2MN rule increases LOS by 0.10 days and the 3D rule by 0.21 days, confirming the validity of these rules as instruments for causal inference. However, despite these increases in LOS, there are no signifi

SUBMITTER: Langenberger B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11643150 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature