Workforce Planning Key Clinical Questions
04. Are there any themes to which adaptations worked and which didn’t?
a. HOMERuN institutions
This is a very interesting topic and one that we are planning to further investigate. Much of the adaptations utilized are still in current use. Some of the areas that were deployed but then discontinued were the reductions in non-essential services and redeployment of residents and APPs.
b. What is Known
Previous literature has suggested that a higher census may result in longer lengths of stay.14,15 We saw some diversity in approaches to managing either higher or lower census on COVID-19 teams. There are a variety of different approaches being utilized when caring for COVID-19 patients, such as reduced documentation and remote visits which may allow for a higher census on these teams.
c. What is Not Known
We aim to understand the effectiveness of these approaches, however there isn’t literature to date on these specific adaptations to care of patients with COVID-19. Because the hospital trajectory for elderly patients or patients with comorbidities may be different than those patients who have less complex stays additional evaluation will need to be conducted accounting for these nuances.
Key Clinical Questions
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- Elliott DJ, Young RS, Brice J, Aguiar R, Kolm P. Effect of hospitalist workload on the quality and efficiency of care. JAMA Intern Med. 2014;174(5):786-793.
- Zoucha J, Hull M, Keniston A, et al. Barriers to early hospital discharge: a cross-sectional study at five academic hospitals. J Hosp Med. 2018;13(12):816-822.