Hospital Utilization after the Epidemic

This study focused on hospital utilization for adult medical-surgical patients in Syracuse, New York as the census peaked then declined between December 2020 and February 2021. The initial analysis demonstrated that the adult medical-surgical census including Coronavirus patients declined by 8.1 percent during January and February 2021. The study data also demonstrated that the adult medical-surgical census of the combined hospitals increased as the numbers of virus patients declined. The inpatient census at the end of February 2021 was 3.6 percent below the level for February 2019 and 15.0 percent below the level for February 2020. This suggested a range between 3.6 and 15.0 percent below those in previous years for medical-surgical planning after the epidemic.

Changes in Inpatient Hospital Utilization at the Community Level

This study demonstrated that numbers of hospital inpatient discharges have declined in the metropolitan area of Syracuse, New York. The largest impact has been in adult medicine and adult surgery, the hospital services with the highest utilization rates. Reductions in inpatient care have also affected services with lower utilization, such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and mental health. The study indicated that, between January - June 2019 and 2024, adult medicine discharges declined by 11.9 percent and adult surgery discharges declined by 24.6 percent. A large proportion of the reductions involved orthopedic surgery. They indicated that more than 50 percent of the joint replacements in the Syracuse hospitals have been moved to outpatient services. These patients included those with low severity of illness. The study suggested that reductions in hospital discharges could contribute to the efficiency of care. Fewer inpatient admissions could reduce the need for staffing and other resources. Information from the Syracuse hospitals has suggested that these reductions may continue.