Just over a month ago, we blogged about so-called "July Effect," which suggests that July can be the worst time for a patient to enter the hospital since that is when all of the new interns enter. It raised an interesting question as to whether there are other times of the year, month, week or even day that tend to be a bit risky for hospital patients.
According to a study done by researchers from John Hopkins, it appears that there are patterns in patient care, and the odds of death for patients admitted on the weekend is higher than those who are admitted during the week.
The study, which was published in the Journal of Surgical Research, reviewed over 38,000 records of patients who had suffered head trauma. It found head injuries admitted on the weekend, even if it was less severe of a head injury, were more likely to prove fatal. The results were not a surprise to many health care professionals, as previous studies have already established a well-known "weekend effect" when it comes to heart attacks, strokes and aneurisms.