A major shift from inpatient to outpatient urologic surgery processes in hospitals is believed to have increased mortality rates following complications from these procedures.

Researchers from Henry Ford Hospital initially thought there would be a positive correlation between improved mortality rates and commonly performed urologic surgeries. They discovered the opposite.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School, the University of Montreal Health Center, Yale University’s Department of Urology and the Harvard School of Public Health were also involved in the study, who found that those more likely to die following a common outpatient urology procedure tended to be older, sicker, minorities, and those with public insurance.

Common urologic problems requiring medical intervention may include kidney stones, urinary incontinence, blood in the urine, or elevated PSA levels, to name a few.

Lead study author Jesse D. Sammon, D.O., a researcher at Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute, stresses the importance of improving hospitals’ quality and safety protocol, called “Failure to Rescue” (FTR), which essentially describes the lack of a health care provider or institution to implement medical interventions early on before mortality.

“These high-risk patients are ideal targets for new health care initiatives aimed at improving process and results. Urologic surgeons and support staff need a heightened awareness of the early signs of complications to prevent such deaths, particularly as our patient population becomes older and has more chronic medical conditions,” said Sammon in a statement.

The findings of the study are published in BJUI, the official journal of the British Association of Urological Surgeons.