Fierce Healthcare writes of a study, published in the Journal of Perinatology, that found that longer lengths of stay actually result in lower costs and better clinical outcomes–at least in neo-natal intensive care units. Researchers found that in a NICU with the best possible outcomes, average length of stay was three days longer than in a scenario with poor outcomes, as well as associated costs of $3 million less per year. The study findings suggest hospitals may be zeroing in so hard on reducing length of stay that it keeps them from paying sufficient attention to measures more closely tied to actual clinical outcomes.
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