Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38643008›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

Impact of an ICU bed capacity optimisation method on the average length of stay and average cost of hospitalisation following implementation of China's open policy with respect to COVID-19: a difference-in-differences analysis based on information management system data from a tertiary hospital in southwest China.

Qingyan Zheng, Zhongyi Zeng, Xiumei Tang, Li Ma

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Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Qingyan Zheng *School of Business, Sichuan Unversity, Chengdu, China.
Zhongyi Zeng *West China School of Nursing, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Xiumei TangSchool of Business, Sichuan Unversity, Chengdu, China.ORCID 0000-0002-6086-4164
Li MaSchool of Business, Sichuan Unversity, Chengdu, China 1004500237@qq.com.ORCID 0000-0003-0831-332X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesFollowing the implementation of China's open policy with respect to COVID-19 on 7 December 2022, the influx of patients with infectious diseases has surged rapidly, necessitating hospitals to adopt temporary requisition and modification of ward beds to optimise hospital bed capacity and alleviate the burden of overcrowded patients. This study aims to investigate the effect of an intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity optimisation method on the average length of stay (ALS) and average cost of hospitalisation (ACH) after the open policy of COVID-19 in China. DESIGN AND

settingA difference-in-differences (DID) approach is employed to analyse and compare the ALS and ACH of patients in four modified ICUs and eight non-modified ICUs within a tertiary hospital located in southwest China. The analysis spans 2 months before and after the open policy, specifically from 5 October 2022 to 6 December 2022, and 7 December 2022 to 6 February 2023.

participantsWe used the daily data extracted from the hospital's information management system for a total of 5944 patients admitted by the outpatient and emergency access during the 2-month periods before and after the release of the open policy in China.

resultsThe findings indicate that the ICU bed optimisation method implemented by the tertiary hospital led to a significant reduction in ALS (HR -0.6764, 95% CI -1.0328 to -0.3201, p=0.000) and ACH (HR -0.2336, 95% CI -0.4741 to -0.0068, p=0.057) among ICU patients after implementation of the open policy. These results were robust across various sensitivity analyses. However, the effect of the optimisation method exhibits heterogeneity among patients admitted through the outpatient and emergency channels.

conclusionsThis study corroborates a significant positive impact of ICU bed optimisation in mitigating the shortage of medical resources following an epidemic outbreak. The findings hold theoretical and practical implications for identifying effective emergency coordination strategies in managing hospital bed resources during sudden public health emergency events. These insights contribute to the advancement of resource management practices and the promotion of experiences in dealing with public health emergencies.

Indexed as

COVID-19ChinaHospitalizationHumansInformation ManagementIntensive Care UnitsLength of StayTertiary Care CentersChinaCOVID-19decision makinghealth economicshealth policy

Identifiers

PMID38643008
PMCPMC11033667

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.