Capsule Commentary on Blecker et al., Impact of an Intervention to Improve Weekend Hospital Care at an Academic Medical Center: An Observational Study.

Abstract

This observational trial by Blecker et al. evaluated the effect of an intervention, called the 7-Day Hospital Initiative, on the primary outcome of length of stay in a large tertiary-care academic hospital1. The intervention consisted of five components, including expanded access to diagnostic procedures on weekends, expanded hospitalist coverage and improved handoffs on weekends, increased weekend care management, improved discharge processes, and increased scheduling of elective surgeries on weekends. The study showed a 13 % decrease in average length of stay (LOS)—the study’s primary outcome—immediately after the intervention as well as a persistent 1 % decrease in LOS each month thereafter, and a 12 % increase in weekend discharges immediately after the intervention, with a 2 % monthly increase thereafter. There was no impact on readmissions or mortality.