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Comparative Study
. 2013 Aug;13(4):344-8.
doi: 10.7861/clinmedicine.13-4-344.

The impact of consultant-delivered multidisciplinary inpatient medical care on patient outcomes

R Fielding  1 , J Kause, V Arnell-Cullen, D Sandeman
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The impact of consultant-delivered multidisciplinary inpatient medical care on patient outcomes

R Fielding et al. Clin Med (Lond). 2013 Aug.

Abstract

Consultant-delivered care has been shown to improve outcomes for acute medical patients. However, the ideal composition of a medical team to support consultant-delivered care is not clear and little is known about the effect of continuing consultant-delivered care until the patient is discharged. Between December 2011 and April 2012, 260 general medical patients requiring inpatient care were managed by a consultant-delivered multidisciplinary team (CD-MDT) and 150 patients by a standard consultant-led team of trainee doctors. The length of hospital stay was significantly lower for patients managed by a CD-MDT than for those managed by a standard team (4-5 days vs 7 days, p<0.001). No difference between the groups was seen for readmission rates, patient safety or mortality. In conclusion, a CD-MDT is a safe and effective model of inpatient medical care and is associated with a shorter length of hospital stay.

Keywords: Consultant-delivered care; general internal medicine; multidisciplinary team.

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Figures

Fig 1.
Fig 1.
Number of patients allocated per day. Data expressed as median number of patients; bars are maximum number of allocated patients per day.
Fig 2.
Fig 2.
Number of patients discharged per day. Data expressed as median number of patients; bars are maximum number of discharged patients per day.
Fig 3.
Fig 3.
Length of stay by team. Box plot showing length of stay in days for each team. *p<0.001 versus other teams.
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