If all Victorian public hospitals were as efficient as the state's highest performers, they could save millions of dollars without compromising patient care, a report has found.
The Victorian Auditor-General report looking into hospital performance, tabled in parliament on Wednesday, found that many public hospitals could become more efficient if they focused more on reducing the length of hospital stays.
Acting Auditor-General Peter Frost writes that a more efficient admission and discharge process could free up almost 145,000 extra beds and unlock $125 million in savings, which could be spent on other services.
This is equal to a 396-bed hospital operating at 100 per cent capacity.
The savings were estimated based on direct costs such as daily labour expenses (medical and nursing) and indirect costs, including lighting, heating and cleaning, which combined averaged $864 per bed.
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Western, Shepparton, Bendigo, Wangaratta and Casey hospitals were cited as examples for other hospitals to follow.
Mr Frost recommended regular reporting to hospital boards about how long patients were staying, as well as identifying reasons behind significant hospital stays.
He also wrote that the Department of Health and Safety should analyse hospital data more regularly, and hold hospitals - which manage their own budgets - to a "meaningful benchmark" against which they could judge their performance.
However, Health Minister Jill Hennessy said some of the methodology used in the report "skewed" the results.
She said counting patients who are receiving treatment at home by staff from the hospital as part of the Hospital in the Home initiative implied they were occupying hospital beds.
The government also claimed that potential savings were overstated in the report, as inefficient data collection made it difficult to determine the exact problems behind longer stays.
Ms Hennessy said the health system actively encouraged patients to apply for hospital at home to reduce the burden on hospitals.
She also admitted that hospital efficiency in Victoria varied greatly, and said the government accepted most of Mr Frost's recommendations.
Ms Hennessey said that giving patients better access to pharmacies within hospitals, having patients assessed by consultants as soon as possible and making sure patients had a safe place to go after being discharged would also alleviate some pressure on hospitals.
