Does greater rehab length of stay improve outcomes?

Author: Dominik Zbogar | Reviewer: Giorgio Scivoletto | Published: 30 April 2025 | Updated: ~

The evidence for how LOS affects individual functional improvement at discharge is mixed. Some studies report a longer LOS is associated with increased functional improvement while others report the opposite.

Longer LOS may allow for additional opportunities for interdisciplinary treatments, patient education, and discharge planning to support transitions in care and reduce risk of re-hospitalization. However, LOS alone does not account for the intensity and quality of rehabilitation. In a hypothetical situation, patients recover their motor function faster and finish their rehabilitation program sooner if the therapy intensity is increased. Also, other factors such as psychological support, and community reintegration efforts play critical roles in long-term outcomes for SCI patients​. Time in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital can be disruptive to patients and adjusting sooner to routine at home, say as an outpatient, can accelerate community reintegration efforts.

Note too, that those with the most severe injuries tend to have the longest LOS in rehabilitation, yet their outcomes are often worse than those with shorter LOS and less severe injuries. It would be incorrect to assume then that longer LOS results in worse outcomes. Instead, consider the context of injury/demographic factors (as discussed in the previous sections) when looking at LOS values.