Health care costs are escalating worldwide and there is a growing need
to provide health care in the most efficient manner possible without
compromising outcomes. SCI rehabilitation in particular is expensive
and resource intensive. Although LOS has been decreasing in many
settings,12,13 there is still considerable variability globally.7,12–15
Despite the importance of this issue, there has been little published
regarding approaches to improving the efficiency of inpatient
rehabilitation for SCI.
One approach to improving outcomes is to introduce more
efficacious therapeutic interventions; the typical emphasis of clinicians.
Alternatively patient outcomes and system efficiency can be
improved through the evaluation and improvement of the processes
involved in care delivery. This is true of any complex organization and
the provision of inpatient rehabilitation is a complex endeavor
involving many processes and many individuals typically working as
an interdisciplinary team.
Using benchmarking, process standardization and the development
and implementation of decision support tools, the authors were able
to decrease LOS, while simultaneously improving FIM change and
efficiency. Benefits included better patient outcomes, lower costs, the
provision of care to more clients per annum and improved patient
flow across the health care continuum (acute care-rehabilitationcommunity).
Benchmarking is a sharing of performance data among entities in
the same industry or professional area. Performance data can be used
to set new, objective benchmarks for future performance. Benchmarking
is routine in many industries and has been previously
used and associated with improved outcomes in rehabilitation
settings.4,16–19 Benchmarking is useful for setting organizational
goals and increasing performance expectations. Incentives can also
be used to increase performance expectations. The implementation of
a prospective payment system for Medicare patients (USA) provided a
fiscal incentive for shortening LOS. LOS for medicare patients
with SCI subsequently decreased, while functional outcomes were
maintained.9
Process standardization was also employed, primarily through the
development of a methodology for determining anticipated LOS
based on initial presentation. Standardization ensures that the desired
approach consistently occurs and is particularly important in large
organizations where there is the potential for substantial variability.
Standardization had the additional benefit of enhancing transparency
from the perspective of both clients and staff. This had been a
commonly expressed concern in the program.
Standardization can be particularly difficult when a process
involves many individuals and requires judgment and active decision-
making. Decision supports (for example, decision trees,
defined criteria) can be extremely valuable in the rehabilitation setting
when consistency in approach is desired.20 Decision supports have
successfully guided discharge decision making and the provision
of rehabilitation services such as peri-operative physical therapy.21
Although standardization is important, the process must
accommodate modifications when appropriate. In this case, the
projected LOS provided an objective target, but was not rigidly
enforced and could be adjusted if the patient did not achieve the
defined discharge criteria. In this initiative, the tentative discharge
date facilitated earlier team discussions related to discharge planning
and barriers. The implementation of tools to support standardization
and decision making has also facilitated data collection regarding
observed barriers to discharge, which will inform future program
planning