A Research On An Information Platform For Monitoring Factors Influencing Average Length Of Stay

Average length of stay (ALOS) refers to average number of days that patients spend in a hospital over a period of time. ALOS is regarded as an indicator of efficiency, medical treatment quality and treatment level in hospitals. It reflects not only mecical treatment level of a hospital, but also the efficiency of management and utilization of medical resources. ALOS is influenced by a number of factors, a majority of which are associated with hospital management. Insufficient management may lead to a series of questions, including unequal distribution of medical resources, improper allocation of time and low efficiency of medical stuff. High ALOS can result from poor hospital management. In recent years, an increasing number of hospital management have focused on exploring ways of shortening ALOS and choose it as a comprehensive index of performance evaluation.This study was set to explore a method to shorten ALOS from the view of hospital management. Patient information in Beijing Tiantan Hospital from2010to2011was collected from hospital information system (HIS), picture archiving and communication system (PACS), laboratory information management system (LIS) and electronic medical record system (EMR). Investigations were conducted in several departments in the hospital to obtain process of actual medical treatments. Factors influencing ALOS with respect to hospital management was analyzed with medical data. Based on a comprehensive literature review and results of data analysis, an information system was designed and developed to assist in reducing the ALOS. Developed as a module of the EMR system, the system was Client/Server based and using Visual Studio2005as the developing tool.According to literature review and processes analysis, the hospitalization process was divided into four parts, that is, admission, auxiliary examinations, consultations and operations. Analysis of patient medical data demonstrated that factors leading to an increased ALOS existed in all of the four processes. Through real-time monitoring of the four parts in the hospitalization process, the system can provide a real-time remind to doctors to reduce wasted time due to inappropriate patient care management. Furthermore, the system can also provide numerical and graphical statistical results of admission, auxiliary examinations, consultations and operations for hospital management to facilitate decision-making to shorten ALOS and improve hospital performance.