Do discharge delays explain longer stays at veterans health administration hospitals?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Discharge delays are difficult to quantify without standardized indicators for when patients are medically ready for discharge. We aimed to estimate the proportion of increased hospital length of stay attributable to discharge delays, as proxied by increases in 'avoidable' days.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of Veterans Health Administration hospitals in the continental United States with emergency departments between 1 March 2019 and 28 February 2023. We included Veterans who were discharged from an acute medicine service without a COVID-19 diagnosis. We used standardized utilization management criteria to count 'avoidable' days, defined as hospital days when acute care was no longer required. Our primary outcome was geometric mean length of t

SUBMITTER: Lucas BP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12699839 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature