Delay in reviewing test results prolongs hospital length of stay: a retrospective cohort study

Autor: Mei-Sing Ong, Farah Magrabi, Enrico Coiera
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: BMC Health Services Research, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2018)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI: 10.1186/s12913-018-3181-z
Popis: Abstract Background Failure in the timely follow-up of test results has been widely documented, contributing to delayed medical care. Yet, the impact of delay in reviewing test results on hospital length of stay (LOS) has not been studied. We examine the relationship between laboratory tests review time and hospital LOS. Methods A retrospective cohort study of inpatients admitted to a metropolitan teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia, between 2011 and 2012 (n = 5804). Generalized linear models were developed to examine the relationship between hospital LOS and cumulative clinician read time (CRT), defined as the time taken by clinicians to review laboratory test results performed during an inpatient stay after they were reported in the computerized test reporting system. The models were adjusted for patients’ age, sex, and disease severity (measured by the Charlson Comorbidity index), the number of test panels performed, the number of unreviewed tests pre-discharge, and the cumulative laboratory turnaround time (LTAT) of tests performed during an inpatient stay. Results Cumulative CRT is significantly associated with prolonged LOS, with each day of delay in reviewing test results increasing the likelihood of prolonged LOS by 13.2% (p
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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