Is the length of hospital stay in the private sector longer if the patient has insurance?

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Hospital length of stay (LOS) describes the duration of a single episode of hospitalization. The aim of this study was to determine the association between hospital LOS in a private hospital in Colombo and presence of insurance cover among patients admitted between 2009 and 2014. METHOD: A retrospective study was conducted at a private hospital in Colombo. All admissions between 2009 and 2014 had been computerised; data pertaining to length of stay, age, sex and availability of insurance cover were extracted for all patients from the database. RESULTS: There were 188,557 admissions (98,116 men; 52%) between 2009 and 2014. The mean LOS gradually declined from age less than 10 years to 30 to 40 years and then increased with increasing age. Men had a significantly higher LOS than females (2.7 vs 2.4 days). The average length of stay significantly declined in both sexes from 2009 to 2014 [P<0.05]. 19% of hospital days were in the age group less than 20 years and 40% are in the age group 21-50 years. 61% of the patients had insurance and 17% of them were in the age group 51 to 60 years. More than 50% of the admissions among insured and non- insured were men. The LOS among the insured was significantly higher than the non-insured (2.7 vs 2.2 days) [PO.05]. CONCLUSION: Higher LOS was associated with older age, male patients and availability of insurance. The most of the insured patients were in the age group of 51 to 60 years.