Hospital stays are becoming shorter by the day as pain management improves

Sutapa Ghosh, 74, was discharged from a Mumbai hospital on the fourth day of her knee-joint replacement surgery for both knees.

- SOHINI DAS

The patient was mobilised (made to walk) a day after her surgical procedure.

Now a month later, Ghosh is able to walk without a stick, and is taking a flight of stairs.

"Getting to eat home-cooked food so soon was such a relief," said Ghosh, sporting a smile. “Pain management is much better than what I had expected," she said.

She was delaying her surgery for fear of pain.

Many patients like Ghosh are getting discharged sooner than ever from hospitals.

Dr Bishnu Panigrahi, group head, medical strategy and operations, Fortis Healthcare, said: "Every hospital tracks the length of stay closely. We cannot keep on increasing critical-care beds. The number of patients coming for treatment across healthcare chains is increasing by the day. Insurance penetration and affordability are increasing. More efficiency is thus brought into the system now."

"Pain relief is taken care of in a manner that some hospitals are mobilising patients on the evening of the surgery. Early mobilisation helps in pain management and early discharge."

The "average length of stay" (ALOS) for Fortis Healthcare stood at 4.32 days in Q3FY24, down from the 4.42 days in Q3FY23.

ALOS is often used as an indicator of efficiency. A shorter length of stay will reduce the cost per discharge, and shift care from in-patient to less expensive and more patient-friendly environments such as home care or step-down units, say hospitals.