Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of internal medicine specialty and physician experience on inpatient resource use and clinical outcomes on an academic general medicine service.
DESIGN: A 1-year retrospective cohort study.
SETTING: The University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
PATIENTS: Two thousand six hundred seventeen admissions to the general medicine service from July 2001 to June 2002, excluding those for whom data were incomplete (n=18).
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Length of stay (LOS) and total hospital costs were used to measure resource utilization. Hospital mortality and 14-day and 30-day readmission rates were used to measure clinical outcomes. Adjusted mean LOS was significantly greater for rheumatologists (0.56 days greater; P=.002) and endocrinologists (0.38 days greater; P=.03) compared to general internists. Total costs were lower for general internists compared to endocrinologists ($1100 lower; P=.01) and rheumatologists ($431 lower; P=.07). Hospitalists showed a trend toward reduced LOS compared to all other physicians (0.31 days lower; P=.06). The top two deciles of physicians stratified by recent inpatient general medical experience showed significantly reduced LOS compared to all other physicians (0.35 days lower; P=.04). No significant differences were seen in readmission rates or in-hospital mortality among the various physician groups.
CONCLUSIONS: General internists had lower lengths of stay and costs compared to endocrinologists and rheumatologists. Hospitalists showed a trend toward reduced LOS compared to all other physicians. Recent inpatient general medicine experience appears to be a determinant of reduced inpatient resource use.
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Dr. Saint is supported by a Career Development Award from the Health Services Research and Development Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs and a Patient Safety Developmental Center Grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (P20-HS11540).
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Parekh, V., Saint, S., Furney, S. et al. What effect does inpatient physician specialty and experience have on clinical outcomes and resource utilization on a general medical service?. J GEN INTERN MED 19, 395–401 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2004.30298.x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1497.2004.30298.x