The average length of stay in hospital has fallen from six to five days since 2008, according to a study by the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre (KCE).
Most hospitals are shortening the length of stays and performing more outpatient procedures, but this does not lead to additional risks for patients, the KCE says.
The agency analysed more than 25 million hospital stays between 2008 and 2022 and found that the number of surgical procedures performed on an outpatient basis rose from 58% in 2008 to 66% in 2022.
The average length of a stay fell from six to five days. According to the KCE, this did not lead to unplanned readmission or patients dying within 30 days of the procedure.
The trend towards shorter stays began decades ago, based on the idea that patients would return to their familiar home environment more quickly and be less at risk of complications that occur in hospital.
There are also benefits for the healthcare system: beds are occupied for less time, and staff can be deployed more efficiently. A faster turnover leads to a lower cost per patient.
Analysis of the scientific literature shows that shorter stays and outpatient admissions do not generally lead to poorer outcomes for patients, according to the KCE. One exception is the treatment of heart failure as an outpatient procedure, which does lead to more readmissions.
Despite the positive results, the number of unplanned readmissions remains high for certain groups, such as people over 85. There are also considerable differences between hospitals in the number of unplanned readmissions.
Shorter hospital stays often require more intensive care, which needs sufficient skilled staff to guarantee the quality of care.
"In recent years, we have focused strongly on day hospitalisation and shortening hospital stays," said Federal Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit).
"Long stays in hospital are often unnecessary or not in the patient's best interests. People recover better and prefer to do so at home," he said. "A shorter stay also means a lower bill for the patient and less pressure on hospital staff."
He says this evolution has been made possible by innovations in the medical world. "We remain committed to innovation and top-quality care, and to keeping that care affordable for everyone."
