SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Hospitalist Experience and Patient Outcomes: A Retrospective Study of Performance Metrics at an Academic Medical Center

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This retrospective observational study examined whether hospitalist experience was associated with patient outcomes and hospital performance metrics at Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin. Using EPIC Clarity data from May 1 to December 31, 2023, the authors analyzed 22,098 encounters involving 14,804 unique patients cared for by 59 hospitalists. Experience was grouped into 2 years, 2–5 years, and 5 years.<br /><br />The main outcomes were length of stay (LOS), 72-hour and 30-day readmission rates. Secondary outcomes included inpatient mortality and patient satisfaction scores. Unadjusted regression models with random effects for hospitalists were used to assess associations.<br /><br />Among hospitalists, 15.25% had 2 years of experience, 44.07% had 2–5 years, and 40.68% had 5 years. The overall mean LOS was 5.16 days, the 30-day readmission rate was 13.69%, inpatient mortality was 10.81%, and mean patient satisfaction was 8.68/10, with 67.54% of patients rating care 9–10.<br /><br />The key finding was that hospitalists with 5 years of experience were associated with a significantly shorter LOS by 0.67 days compared with less experienced providers. However, experience was not significantly associated with 72-hour readmission, 30-day readmission, inpatient mortality, or patient satisfaction.<br /><br />The study suggests that greater hospitalist experience may improve efficiency by reducing hospital stay duration, but other factors likely drive readmissions, mortality, and satisfaction. Limitations include its single-center design, short duration, and possible unmeasured confounding such as workload or burnout. The authors recommend larger, multi-institutional, longitudinal studies to better understand how hospitalist experience affects outcomes over time.

Asset Subtitle

Mukul Sharda

Meta Tag

Author List Balpreet Kaur, Barbara Slawski, Mukul Sharda, Pinky Jha, Sanjay Bhandari

Category Research

Concept Hospitalist Experience

Concept Length of Stay

Concept Readmission Rate

Concept Inpatient Mortality

Concept Patient Satisfaction

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Medical College of Wisconsin

Presenting Author Mukul Sharda

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

hospitalist experience

patient outcomes

length of stay

readmission rates

inpatient mortality

patient satisfaction

retrospective observational study

hospital performance metrics

EPIC Clarity data

single-center study

Hospitalist Experience

Length of Stay

Readmission Rate

Inpatient Mortality

Patient Satisfaction