Feasibility of Medical-Legal Partnership to Improve Inpatient Outcomes and Reduce Hospital Length of Stay.

IF 1.2 4区医学 Q4 HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved Pub Date : 2025-01-01 DOI:10.1353/hpu.2025.a959105

Nicole DePolo, Catherine A West, Brian D Johnston

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: Length of stay (LOS) is an important quality metric often affected by social determinants of health including health-harming legal needs (HHLNs). We sought to determine the feasibility of medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) in the inpatient setting to improve LOS.

Methods: Adult patients admitted to a safety-net public hospital beyond medically predicted LOS (n=110) were assessed for HHLNs via chart review and standardized surveys then referred for legal intervention if indicated. Staff were surveyed regarding HHLNs and MLPs. Retrospective cost-analysis was performed one year later.

Results: Average excess LOS days were 41±51, and HHLNs were identified among 69% of patients. The need for guardianship was specifically associated with increased excess LOS (p=.03). Staff reported interest in MLPs, and referrals increased after initial exposure. Cost-analysis at one year showed savings in excess of $200,000.

Conclusions: Medical-legal partnerships have potential to reduce excess LOS, improving inpatient clinical outcomes and health care cost-effectiveness.

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医法伙伴关系改善住院治疗效果和缩短住院时间的可行性。

停留时间（LOS）是一项重要的质量指标，经常受到健康的社会决定因素的影响，包括危害健康的法律需求（hhln）。我们试图确定医疗-法律合作伙伴关系（mlp）在住院环境中改善LOS的可行性。方法：通过图表回顾和标准化调查对超过医学预测LOS的安全网公立医院住院的成年患者（n=110）进行hhln评估，并在有必要时进行法律干预。对工作人员进行了关于hhln和mlp的调查。一年后进行回顾性成本分析。结果：平均过量LOS天数为41±51天，69%的患者发现hhln。监护需求与LOS过量增加特别相关（p=.03）。工作人员报告了对mlp的兴趣，初次接触后转诊人数增加。一年的费用分析显示节省超过$200 000。结论：医疗-法律伙伴关系有可能减少过量的LOS，改善住院患者的临床结果和医疗保健的成本效益。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved Multiple-

CiteScore

2.00

自引率

7.10%

发文量

154

期刊介绍： The journal has as its goal the dissemination of information on the health of, and health care for, low income and other medically underserved communities to health care practitioners, policy makers, and community leaders who are in a position to effect meaningful change. Issues dealt with include access to, quality of, and cost of health care.