Delays in elective surgeries of hospitalized patients increase the risk of infections and raise hospital costs, according to a study in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Hospitals will be under increasing pressure to reduce infection rates to boost payments as pay-for-performance arrangements become more prevalent, observers said.
Reviewing records of 163,006 patients aged 40 and over from 2003-2007, researchers found infection rates increased significantly each day after admission for up to 10 days.
Delays produced higher rates of pneumonia and sepsis for all procedures. Urinary tract infections and surgical site infections increased significantly when CABG and colon resection were delayed. Affected patients tended to be 80 years and older, female, black or Hispanic and with comorbidities such as congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease and renal failure.
Delays increased total hospital costs from $36,079 to $47,5237 for CABG, $20,265 to $29,887 for colon resections and $26,323 to $30,571 for lung resections.
Read the article abstract in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons on costs of surgery.
Read the Nursing Spectrum article on the study.
Read more coverage of the costs of surgery:
- Six Healthcare Systems to Collaborate on Best Practices, Starting With Costly Treatments Having Wide Variations in Outcomes
- Planning for an Uncertain Future: Q&A With Gene Michalski, CEO of Michigan's Beaumont Hospitals
- Executing a Successful Hospital Turnaround: Q&A With John Kastanis of Quincy Medical Center
Hospitals will be under increasing pressure to reduce infection rates to boost payments as pay-for-performance arrangements become more prevalent, observers said.
Reviewing records of 163,006 patients aged 40 and over from 2003-2007, researchers found infection rates increased significantly each day after admission for up to 10 days.
Delays produced higher rates of pneumonia and sepsis for all procedures. Urinary tract infections and surgical site infections increased significantly when CABG and colon resection were delayed. Affected patients tended to be 80 years and older, female, black or Hispanic and with comorbidities such as congestive heart failure, chronic pulmonary disease and renal failure.
Delays increased total hospital costs from $36,079 to $47,5237 for CABG, $20,265 to $29,887 for colon resections and $26,323 to $30,571 for lung resections.
Read the article abstract in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons on costs of surgery.
Read the Nursing Spectrum article on the study.
Read more coverage of the costs of surgery:
- Six Healthcare Systems to Collaborate on Best Practices, Starting With Costly Treatments Having Wide Variations in Outcomes
- Planning for an Uncertain Future: Q&A With Gene Michalski, CEO of Michigan's Beaumont Hospitals
- Executing a Successful Hospital Turnaround: Q&A With John Kastanis of Quincy Medical Center
