June 13, 2003

LOS at an all-time low

The length of stay (LOS) rate was at an all-time low during the month of April. According to Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of the MGH, the LOS rate for April was 5.44 days, which is .35 under budget and the lowest LOS rate in the MGH's history. May's LOS also was below average at 5.62 days.

In the past, controlling LOS has been a challenge for the hospital and has consistently remained a top priority for hospital leadership. Some key factors in the decline can be attributed to an increased focus on communication between physicians, staff nurses and case management, as well as increased access to MRI, cardiac stress tests and CT scans. Interdisciplinary performance improvement teams across the hospital also are working on improving efficiency and quality of care. In addition, there has been a focus on the facilitation of the transition of patients between the MGH and post-acute-care facilities.