Impact of Preadmission Evaluations on Elective Hospitalization of Children

[摘要] It was hypothesized that a well-organized evaluation of children scheduled for elective medical admission would: (1) significantly reduce average length of stay; (2) meet with parent satisfaction; and (3) significantly reduce health care costs. To test this hypothesis, a system of preadmission procedures was established for patients scheduled for elective medical admission to a 332-bed tertiary care pediatric hospital, and the impact of the system on these three parameters was evaluated. Compared with 167 concurrent control patients and 379 historical matched control patients, a highly significant shortening of length of hospital stay was associated with the preadmission program. Preadmission evaluation was associated with a reduction of 2.31 days in mean hospital stay and of three days in median stay as compared with number of days for concurrent control patients ( P < .01). Patient and staff satisfaction was high. The extension of such a program to most elective medical admissions should result in significant savings in health care costs and reduction in family inconvenience.

[学科分类] 儿科学