The increase in spending and healthcare wastage has been partly attributed to a longer length of stay in hospitals. Effective approaches to reducing these wastages have to focus on ways of reducing the LOS without affecting the quality of care and patient recovery. The initiative of reducing the LOS involves identifying possible discharges early based on the patients’ progress, prioritizing laboratory tests and hastening provision of primary care, and coordinating the discharge medication. Delays in discharge did not significantly improve the health conditions of the patients, in comparison to the significant increase in healthcare spending. Reduction of the LOS from 12 to 10 days resulted in reduced wastage (Khalifa, 2017).
The high spending in the United States healthcare does not translate to better health. Patient overtreatment and uncoordinated care in in-patient setting significantly contribute to the high spending. Given that the results of the high spending do not imply improved quality of care, it, therefore, surmounts to healthcare waste. Initiatives to reduce the duration of hospitalization and consequently curtail the wastage is comprehensive discharge planning and effective self-management programs supported by care transition personnel. Training family caregivers makes it possible to shift the care for patients, especially those whose condition has improved, to their homes. As a result, the spending in prolonged hospital stay is curbed (Martin, 2014).
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Hospitalization incurs approximately $377.5 billion to the healthcare sector in the U.S. annually. These costs are exacerbated by the prolonged length of hospital stay. Prolonged hospital stay does not only increase the cost of care both for the patients and the hospital but also increases the risks of nosocomial infections to the patients. Curbing this wastage is dependent on decreasing the LOS in hospitals. This initiative involves utilizing EBP to provide optimum care and reduce unnecessary tests, care coordination and creating multidisciplinary communication, and adoption of technology in various facets of healthcare delivery (Quinn, 2018).
References
Martin, E.( 2014). Eliminating Waste in Healthcare. ASQ Healthcare. Retrieved on 23 rd June 2019 from http://asq.org/health/2014/06/basic-quality/eliminating-waste-in-healthcare.pdf
Khalifa, M. (2017, August). Reducing Length of Stay by Enhancing Patients' Discharge: A Practical Approach to Improve Hospital Efficiency. In ICIMTH (pp. 157-160). Retrieved on 23 rd June 2019 from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318339859_Reducing_Length_of_Stay_by_Enhancing_Patients'_Discharge_A_Practical_Approach_to_Improve_Hospital_Efficiency
Quinn, J. (2018, March 08). Shorter Stays: When Evidence-Based Medicine Can Decrease Length of Stay. EBSCO Health. Retrieved on 23 rd June 2019 from https://health.ebsco.com/blog/article/shorter-stays-when-evidence-based-medicine-can-decrease-length-of-stay
