12.18% of Rush University Medical Center’s Discharges were LOS Outliers, Which is 2% Higher Than Illinois State
Get Dexur’s Personalized Hospital Specific Presentation on Quality, Safety, Compliance & Education
By: Emily Carpintero Jan. 09, 2018
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois had a higher percentage of length of stay (LOS) outliers compared to the state and national averages by 2.11% and 0.2%, respectively, according to Dexur’s recent analysis of CMS Medicare claims for 2016. Dexur analysts identified Medicare inpatients’ total discharges, total LOS outliers, and percentage of LOS outliers at the hospital, state, and national level. This metric is significant to healthcare professionals as LOS outliers are costly for both hospitals and claims payers—keeping a low count of LOS outliers is beneficial for both the hospital and patients. A background on LOS outliers and methodology for data collection can be read here. Below is a graph depicting the percentage of LOS outliers from several popular hospital categories for the hospital, state, and nation.
The three highest volume discharging divisions at Rush University Medical Center for Medicare inpatients were orthopedics, cardiovascular, and neurology; the three divisions varied in averages of LOS outliers compared to the state and national averages. 8.63% of the orthopedics division’s discharges were LOS outliers; this was lower than the state and national averages by 0.96% and 1.66%, respectively. The hospital’s cardiovascular discharges were made up of 14.31% LOS outliers; this was higher than the state’s average by 4.04%, and higher than the national average by 2.56%. The neurology division showed that 15.16% of their total discharges were LOS outliers; this was higher than the state average by 1.13%, but minorly lower than the national average by 0.56%.
Rush University Medical Center’s quality of care was reviewed by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in November 2017 and the hospital earned a five-star rating; fewer than 7.5% of hospitals nationwide earn five-stars, and they are the only hospital in Chicago with this recognition. This review assessed over 50 quality care metrics including LOS, readmissions and mortality rates. The year prior, Rush University Medical Center earned four-stars from CMS (still above the national average of three-stars); the newly earned top-rating portrays the collective efforts the hospital applied to turn over the best clinical and economic outcomes for their patients.
| Category | Total Hospital Discharges | Total Hospital LOS Outliers | % of Hospital LOS Outliers | % of State LOS Outliers | % of National LOS Outliers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Inpatient | 10,821 | 672 | 12.18% | 10.07% | 11.98% |
| Orthopedics | 1,936 | 167 | 8.63% | 9.59% | 10.29% |
| Cardiovascular | 1,475 | 211 | 14.31% | 10.27% | 11.75% |
| Neurology | 1,042 | 158 | 15.16% | 14.03% | 15.72% |
DEXUR PRO MEMBERS GET ACCESS TO:
- Total discharges from Medicare inpatients, total LOS outliers and percentage of LOS outliers for all Rush University Medical Center divisions
- Total percentage of LOS outliers for each hospital category at a state and national level
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
