Association Between In-Hospital Applications for Long-Term Care Services and Hospital Length of Stay Among Older Adults: Ecological Cross-Sectional Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Delayed discharge among older patients presents a major challenge for the efficiency of health service delivery. Prolonged hospitalizations limit bed turnover, increase costs, and reduce the availability of hospital resources. In Japan, older adults must undergo a formal care needs certification process to access public long-term care (LTC) services. Initiating this process during hospitalization is considered ideal for ensuring continuity of care. However, the relationship between the timing of LTC certification applications and hospital length of stay (LOS) remains unclear.

Objective

This study examined the association between the timing of LTC certification applications-specifically those submitted during hospitalization-and average LOS among older inpatients a

SUBMITTER: Takashi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12455142 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature