Competitive hospitals save lives and reduce length of patients' stays, new study finds
Last updated 8/11/2010 10:11:15 AM
Competitive hospitals save lives and reduce length of patients stays
Competition among hospitals saves patients' lives and decreases their overall length of stay in hospital, according to a new study, which found there was no corresponding increase in overall expenditure.
English NHS hospitals located in areas where patients have more choice had lower death rates and shorter patient stays than hospitals in less competitive areas. And hospitals in competitive markets were able to make gains without increasing their operating costs and without shedding staff.
In a report released by Bristol University, researchers suggest that the policy of choice and competition could present an effective money saving measure.
Professor Carol Propper explained that given the current focus on spending cuts, government policy should focus on promoting successful competition in healthcare and added that the Department of Health should review its tendency of merging hospitals, as this could limit the extent of competition and stifle improvement in patient outcomes.
Analysing NHS data from 2003 to 2007, a team of researchers, based their analysis on a widely used measure of hospital quality - the improvement in death rates following hospital admissions. Fewer deaths were found in hospitals in more competitive areas.
Adopting the £30,000 benchmark that is often used to cost NHS interventions, researchers found that the beneficial effects of the pro-competition reforms amounted to around £115 million. Patients were found to choose hospitals with shorter waiting lists, indicating a positive public response to greater choice.
These hospitals also drew patients from a wider range of neighbourhoods.The drop in the length of stay for all admissions was further interpreted to mean that hospitals in competitive areas used resources more effectively.