Factors that contribute to increase the time of permanence in the medical clinic of a public hospital

Abstract

Objective: to describe the factors associated with the increase in the average length of stay in the medical clinic unit of a public hospital in the Distrito Federal. Method: this is a descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective and quantitative study that analyzed medical records of patients with hospitalization period ≥ 7 days. For data collection, a specific form was used to record information related to sociodemographic and epidemiological indicators. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis, and for the data processing, absolute and relative frequencies were applied. Results: we analyzed 368 medical records, showing that there was a higher use of hospital beds by male individuals, over 60 years old and living in Sobradinho - DF. The following factors were identified that prolonged the eviction of beds: the waiting for exams, the wait for completion of antibiotic therapy time and waiting for opinions from other specialties. It was evidenced that 117 patients remained hospitalized for up to 10 days, 73 from 11-15 days and 178 >15 days. of these, 48% of the patients hospitalized in the surveyed period occupied the bed for >15 days. The mean length of stay in the health service in the period surveyed was 20,21 days. Conclusion: it was found that the delay in dehospitalization is multifactorial and that requires improvement in the management process aiming at greater agility in the provision of services. Delay in discharge hospital is avoidable if appropriate strategies are implemented within the appropriate time frame. It is hoped that the study can contribute for action planning that aim to give quick answers to the needs of users and the service, optimizing the hospitalization and discharge process and reducing dwell time.