Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, UK.
Clin Med (Lond). 2012 Aug;12(4):320-3. doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.12-4-320.
Delayed patient discharge will likely exacerbate bed shortages. This study prospectively determined the frequency, causes and potential cost implications of delays for 83 consecutive patients, who were inpatients for a total of 888 days. 65% of patients experienced delay whilst awaiting a service. 48% of patients experienced delays that extended their discharge date. Discharge delays accounted for 21% of the cohort's inpatient stay, at an estimated cost of 565 sterling pounds per patient; 77% of these hold-ups resulted from delays in the provision of social and therapy requirements. Discharge delays are costly for hospitals and depressing for patients. Investment is required to enable health and social-care professionals to work more closely to improve the patient journey.
患者延迟出院可能会加剧床位短缺的情况。本研究前瞻性地确定了 83 名连续住院患者的频率、原因和潜在费用影响，这些患者总共住院 888 天。65%的患者在等待服务时出现了延迟。48%的患者因延迟出院而延长了出院日期。出院延迟占该队列住院时间的 21%，估计每位患者的费用为 565 英镑；其中 77%的延迟是由于社会和治疗需求的提供延迟所致。出院延迟对医院来说是昂贵的，对患者来说是令人沮丧的。需要投资以使卫生和社会保健专业人员能够更紧密地合作，以改善患者的就医体验。
