Lousiana’s University Health Shreveport and Illinois’ Iroquois Memorial Hospital the only 2 U.S. Hospitals to Record an Average Length of Stay Under 1.6 Days for COPD
In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
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By: Jeffrey Maser Dec. 08, 2017
Recently released Dexur data shows that Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka, Illinois had the shortest mean LOS out of all U.S. hospitals for DRG-191 (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with Complications or Comorbidities) last year with an average LOS of 1.31 days. University Health Shreveport in Shreveport, Louisiana had the second lowest average LOS at 1.55 days and Covenant Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas had the third lowest average LOS at 1.64 days. Hospital data was only analyzed if a hospital accounted for at least 11 DRG-191 discharges during the timeframe - 2,464 hospitals met this criteria.
| DRG-191 Average LOS Rank (Lowest to Highest) | Hospital Name | City | State | DRG-191 Average LOS (Days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iroquois Memorial Hospital | Watseka | IL | 1.31 |
| 2 | University Health Shreveport | Shreveport | LA | 1.55 |
| 3 | Covenant Medical Center | Lubbock | TX | 1.64 |
| 4 | Mat-Su Regional Medical Center | Palmer | AK | 1.69 |
| 5 | Lea Regional Medical Center | Hobbs | NM | 1.73 |
| 6 | Spectrum Health Big Rapids Hospital | Big Rapids | MI | 1.82 |
| 7 | Mayo Clinic Health System in Red Wing | Red Wing | MN | 1.82 |
| 8 | University Of Louisville Hospital | Louisville | KY | 1.82 |
| 9 | Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital | Bloomsburg | PA | 1.83 |
| 10 | Soin Medical Center | Beavercreek | OH | 1.86 |
Recent research, including a February 2015 study and a December 2015 study, has suggested that LOS may not be the best indicator for quality of care, as excessively short length of stay has been found to be associated with increased readmission rates and mortality rates. Although it is often debated whether average length of stay and readmission rates are a valid metric for determining quality for care, mortality rates are a clear and accurate measure. However, as the variation in experience, technology, and facility resources across hospitals and physicians leads to variation in quality metrics, there is value to understanding which hospitals and physicians are associated with different quality metrics such as average LOS.
A recent Dexur article outlines the different factors that contribute to population health, as research has shown that average length of stay varies across populations. Therefore, statewide or other regional analyses often shed more light than a large, national analysis by controlling for demographic variables. In the case of DRG-191, Minnesota Medicare enrollees experienced the lowest average length of stay among U.S. enrollees at 3 days while New York enrollees faced the highest average length of stay at 4.5 days.
For further analysis, Dexur identified all hospitals in Texas with at least 11 DRG-191 discharges and then filtered further for hospitals with 3,500 or more total inpatient discharges. This specific subgroup of 70 hospitals supports the point that even same-state hospitals of similar size and stature can experience widely differing quality outcomes. Out of these 70 hospitals, six hospitals experienced an average LOS under 3 days and five hospitals experienced an average LOS over 5 days.
DEXUR PRO MEMBERS GET ACCESS TO:
- Total discharge volume, DRG-191 discharge volume, and DRG-191 average length of stay for all Texas hospitals with at least 3,500 total discharges
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