Hospitals across the country are homing in on length of stay to enhance patient flow and boost financial performance.
In their efforts to reduce length of stay, one critical area may be overlooked.
"There are a lot of factors that can affect length of stay, but the number one opportunity in my opinion nationwide is the development and support of your case management or care coordination team," Erik Summers, MD, told Becker's. He recently joined MUSC Health as chief medical officer of its Charleston, S.C., division. Dr. Summers previously served as CMO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.
"A lot of people think, 'Oh this a doctor issue or a medical provider issue' — and they do play a role," he said. "But I have seen hospitals dramatically reduce their length of stay when they have an engaged care coordination team that is supported and empowered."
Length of stay remains a costly challenge nationwide. The average adjusted expenses per inpatient day at hospitals in 2022 was $3,025, according to the most recent data from KFF. Hospitals with an executive-level commitment to addressing length of stay that embed structures and processes around the issue tend to outperform peers, Kenneth Kaufman, managing director of Kaufman Hall, wrote in a blog post earlier this year. If a 425-bed hospital with an average length of stay of six days achieved a one-day reduction, it would realize more than $20 million in operating expense savings per year, Mr. Kaufman wrote.
Five years ago, during his time at Wake Forest Baptist Medical, Dr. Summers led efforts to move to a new model that elevated the care coordination team's involvement with discharge disposition. The shift empowered team members to ask clinicians about the status of patients' needs and care when there no longer appeared to be a medical need for hospitalization.
He ascribed significant reductions in length of stay at Wake hospital to the care coordination team's efforts.
"It just created accountability," Dr. Summers said. "If you don't have an engaged case management team, I think it really inhibits your ability to move patients."