A Length of Stay Index to Monitor Efficiency of Service to General Surgery In-Patients

An index, based on patient length of stay, has been designed for use in the regional monitoring system of Health Authorities. The index, reflecting efficiency of service to general surgery patients, is based upon homogeneous patient groups defined in terms of Hospital Activity Analysis data. The groups and percentile norms of stay under full efficiency have been set up in consultation with members of the medical profession. The index' asymptotic distribution is given, and its use is illustrated for a sample of twelve hospitals and 70 groups of general surgery patients.