Five common fallacies in estimating the economic gains of early discharge

Abstract

Several studies have shown that it is possible to reduce the length of stay after surgery without there being any increase in medical complications. But, there is also the question of how this will affect the total costs for medical care and therefore whether it is in fact desirable to cut down this period of hospitalization. In this article the argument for early discharge is critically examined. It is asserted that the social costs of early discharge are underestimated and the savings overestimated with the consequent risk that the overall advantages of the shorter time spent in hospital may be overempha- sized.