Impact of Physician Profiling on Satisfaction and Length of Hospital Stay
Author Information
Author(s): Zemencuk Judith K, Hofer Timothy P, Hayward Rodney A, Moseley Richard H, Saint Sanjay
Primary Institution: Health Services Research & Development Field Program, Ann Arbor VA Center for Practice Management and Outcomes Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Hypothesis
Does physician profiling affect physician satisfaction and hospital length of stay?
Conclusion
Physician profiling modestly reduced length of stay without adversely affecting physician satisfaction.
Supporting Evidence
- Nearly half of attending pre-profiled physicians felt negative about the possibility of being profiled.
- Length of stay at the profiled site decreased by an additional 1/3 of a day in the profiling year compared to non-profiled sites.
- Physician profiling had no significant effect on senior residents' perception of the degree of involvement by their attending physicians.
Takeaway
The study found that telling doctors how their hospital stays compare to others can help them shorten the time patients spend in the hospital without making the doctors unhappy.
Methodology
Quasi-experimental design with before-and-after and intervention-versus-control comparisons of length of stay data.
Potential Biases
Confounding variables such as case-mix changes or co-interventions could have influenced the results.
Limitations
The study was conducted at a single VA medical center, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Participant Demographics
The study included 68 senior residents and 74 attending physicians, with approximately 35% of attending physicians being women.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Confidence Interval
CI = -0.49 to -0.16
Statistical Significance
p<0.001
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Want to read the original?
Access the complete publication on the publisher's website