Forty percent of hospitalists said their typical inpatient census exceeded safe levels at least monthly, according to a study in JAMA Internal Medicine, formerly Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers conducted an electronic survey of 890 hospitalists, 506 of which responded. The survey asked physicians about their daytime workload, defined by the authors as patient encounters performed per daytime shift. A safe workload was defined as a workload that offered minimal potential for error or harm.
The hospitalists reported they could safely see 15 patients per shift if their effort was 100 percent clinical. Of the 40 percent of physicians who reported having unsafe workloads at least once a month, 36 percent reported unsafe levels greater than once a week.
Hospitalists reported that in the previous year, their workloads led to the following:
• Twenty-two percent delayed admitting or discharging patients until the next shift or hospital day.
• Eighteen percent reported patient workload adversely affected the quality of handoffs.
• Seven percent made a treatment or medication error not due to lack of experience/knowledge.
• Seven percent reported it was likely patients suffered morbidity or complications.
• Five percent reported it was likely patients died due to their workload.
• Twenty-two percent reported they ordered potentially unnecessary tests, procedures, consultations or radiographs due to not having time to assess patient adequately in person.
• Nineteen percent reported they likely worsened patient satisfaction.
• Fourteen percent reported they likely increased the rate of 30-day readmission due to suboptimal planning, treatments, discharge or handoffs.
• Twelve percent reported they worsened the overall quality of care they provided.
Bottom-Up Approach Plus Rapid Cycle Quality Improvement Equals Success for Anderson Hospital
Renewing the Human Connection in Healthcare to Enhance Patient Experience
Researchers conducted an electronic survey of 890 hospitalists, 506 of which responded. The survey asked physicians about their daytime workload, defined by the authors as patient encounters performed per daytime shift. A safe workload was defined as a workload that offered minimal potential for error or harm.The hospitalists reported they could safely see 15 patients per shift if their effort was 100 percent clinical. Of the 40 percent of physicians who reported having unsafe workloads at least once a month, 36 percent reported unsafe levels greater than once a week.
Hospitalists reported that in the previous year, their workloads led to the following:
• Twenty-two percent delayed admitting or discharging patients until the next shift or hospital day.
• Eighteen percent reported patient workload adversely affected the quality of handoffs.
• Seven percent made a treatment or medication error not due to lack of experience/knowledge.
• Seven percent reported it was likely patients suffered morbidity or complications.
• Five percent reported it was likely patients died due to their workload.
• Twenty-two percent reported they ordered potentially unnecessary tests, procedures, consultations or radiographs due to not having time to assess patient adequately in person.
• Nineteen percent reported they likely worsened patient satisfaction.
• Fourteen percent reported they likely increased the rate of 30-day readmission due to suboptimal planning, treatments, discharge or handoffs.
• Twelve percent reported they worsened the overall quality of care they provided.
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Report: U.S. Needs to Make Prevention a Priority in Health StrategyBottom-Up Approach Plus Rapid Cycle Quality Improvement Equals Success for Anderson Hospital
Renewing the Human Connection in Healthcare to Enhance Patient Experience