In Becker’s recent article, 10 things hospitals should do to reduce inpatient census and improve patient experience, Agrawal highlights specific strategies to materially impact length of stay (LOS), right size capacity and shift procedures to the outpatient setting. The practical advice presented is anchored on the hospitals’ ability to analyze historical data in an effort to impact future action and improve the patient experience.

Historical data referenced in the article is only one of multiple inputs that should be considered when attempting to improve the patient experience.  Another input should be data gathered directly from the patient related to their specific experience with LOS, time waiting to see the doctor and likelihood of moving their procedure from inpatient to outpatient facilities.

Obtaining the patient’s perspective is critical to the equation.  A patient’s perspective on service, trust and outcomes is ultimately the best predictor of Hospital success.  Informed patients are becoming much more mainstream.  Imagine if a hospitals reduces its LOS by 50% in order to increase capacity for additional elective surgery throughput, but the patients in the community interpret said hospital action negatively stating that “the hospital just does not care about me as an individual” or that the hospital is “more interested in getting me out of the room than getting me healthy.”  The community perspective will reshape what actually occurs in the hospital, e.g., more emergency room visits vs. patients electing to use said hospital for elective surgeries.  On the other hand, if the same hospital reduces its LOS by 50% and also effectively uses transitional care strategies through patient connections to ensure that someone speaks with the patient after discharge, then the patient will feel that the hospital actually cares for them.  How would a hospital know that the latter action was necessary; by asking the patient.

Bottom line, hospitals must gather more data directly from patients and include said data as inputs into their decision making models for census reduction and patient experience efforts.