[Age and time of hospitalization (author's transl)].

A reduction of the time of hospitalization has been repeatedly considered as a cost-saving possibility in the projects of reforming the hospital system. The time of hospitalization of older patients is longer than that of younger patients. Every plan to reduce it fails for lack of flanking institutions, such as geriatric hospitals, nursing homes, etc. However, all age groups include a small number of patients staying in hospital for long periods of time and taking therfore a disproportionately large share in the nursing day total. This fact is proved by statistic data on 11,875 internal cases admitted to the Nuremberg hospitals. The transformation of the complex acute-case hospital into a graded ward system could create a possibility of accommodating, and attending to, this small group of people in better medical conditions and on better financial terms.