[HSF] Fast tracking

[Mark Levinson]

On Aug 24, 2007, at 9:43 PM, Tea Acuff wrote:

> I agree with your sentiments. However, this is the number that  
> comes back from my STS data

Tea:

I watch my bi-annual STS reports, and I have noticed that the average  
(mean) LOS for CABG has not changed
in 12 years!     It was 7 days in 1995 and still today....Curious.

I know that many of us are trying hard to get patients out of the  
hospital early, but the average does not budge (nationwide).
So, my fealing is that we are succeeding in the younger patients, and  
this is offset by longer LOS in the increasingly
older and sicker elderly patients.     For the sake of calculating  
the mean, these older patients erase the gain we can
achieve in the younger.

In order to get patients out earlier than day 3, we must educate them  
prior to surgery that we expect them to go
home on day 2 or day 1.     Their response to that information will  
quickly determine if you are going to succeed
or fail...the patient that wants to go home early often does.        
More typically, the patient that does *not* want to go
home early never will!

Mark

Mark M. Levinson, MD
Founder, Editor-in-Chief,
The Heart Surgery Forum
WWW: <http://www.hsforum.com>
Email: <mmLevinson at hsforum.com>