Predictors of Inappropriate Hospital Stay: Experience From Iran

Ghods, Ali asghar and Khabiri, Roghayeh and Raeisdana, Nayereh and Ansari, Mehry and Hoshmand Motlagh, Nahid and Sadeghi, Malihe and Zarei, Ehsan (2014) Predictors of Inappropriate Hospital Stay: Experience From Iran. Global Journal of Health Science, 7 (3). ISSN 1916-9736

[thumbnail of 39192-145296-1-PB.pdf] Text
39192-145296-1-PB.pdf - Published Version

Download (208kB)

Abstract

Objective: Hospital services are the most expensive component of modern health care systems and inappropriate hospital stay is one of the most important challenges facing hospitals in many countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of inappropriate hospital stay and investigate the related factors in Semnan city (Iran).

Methods: In this study, the Iranian version of Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) was used in a representative sample of 300 hospital admissions and 905 hospital days. Data collection was performed during six weeks in January and February 2014 in four wards (two internal medicine and two surgical wards) of two hospitals in Semnan city (Iran).

Results: The results showed that 7.4% of admissions and 22.1% of stays have been inappropriate. Inappropriate stays were mainly concerned to the factors, including length of stay, inappropriate admissions, as well as factors related to hospitals. The most frequent causes of unjustifiable days were due to waiting for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures (35.1%), and 20.6% delay in discharge of patients by physicians due to conservative medical policy.

Conclusion: In conclusion, this study confirms the existence of inappropriate hospital stays which may be due to patient characteristics and hospital factors. The most unjustifiable reasons for inappropriate hospital stay were related to internal processes of hospital, which mostly could be prevented through appropriate management Therefore, some steps must be taken to decrease inappropriate hospital stay and preserve hospital resources for patients who need them.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: STM Open Press > Medical Science
Depositing User: Unnamed user with email support@stmopenpress.com
Date Deposited: 08 May 2023 05:40
Last Modified: 12 Sep 2024 04:18
URI: http://journal.submissionpages.com/id/eprint/1141

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item