I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Patients in New York State Linger in Hospitals Longer

Via Newsday:
Health experts say difficulties in finding a place for poor and elderly patients often means they become trapped in hospitals, languishing in sick environments with little to do long after they should have been discharged.

Caroline Steinberg of the American Hospital Association said the problem surfaces more frequently in New York state, which has large elderly, poor and immigrant populations.

It's one reason why the average length of a hospital stay in New York State is 6.6 days, above the national average of 5.1 days, according to AHA.

Patients could get trapped in hospitals for a myriad of reasons...
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