Bilevel multidisciplinary discharge planning and length of stay

As health care funding gets more and more tenuous, leaders in all institutions are called upon to find innovative ways to reduce costs while maintaining quality. It is possible to realize undreamed-of savings by reengineering certain processes, but such an undertaking demands that wholesale changes in the corporate culture and substantial effort at all levels. This paper reports a long-term project at a large, urban, tertiary care institution, the redesign of discharge planning to improve patient care and reduce lengths of stay and related expenses.