Everett G, Uddin N, Rudloff B
Comparison of hospital costs and length of stay for community internists, hospitalists, and academicians. [Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't]
J Gen Intern Med 2007 May; 22(5):662-7.
BACKGROUND: The model of inpatient medical management has evolved toward Hospitalists because of greater cost efficiency compared to traditional practice. The optimal model of inpatient care is not known.
OBJECTIVE: To compare three models of inpatient Internal Medicine (traditional private practice Internists, private Hospitalist Internists, and Academic Internists with resident teams) for cost efficiency and quality at a community teaching hospital.
DESIGN: Single-institution retrospective cohort study.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Measurements were hospital cost, length of stay (LOS), mortality, and 30-day readmission rate adjusted for severity, demographics, and case mix. Academic Internist teams had 30% lower cost and 40% lower LOS compared to traditional private Internists and 24% lower cost and 30% lower LOS compared to private Hospitalists. Hospital mortality was equivalent for all groups. Academic teams had 2.3-2.6% more 30-day readmissions than the other groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Academic teams compare favorably to private Hospitalists and traditional Internists for hospital cost efficiency and quality.
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