Baseline characteristics of bedspaced and assigned general internal medicine (GIM) wards patients
| All patients (n=3243) | Bedspaced patients (n=1125) | Assigned GIM ward patients (n=2118) | Bedspaced versus assigned GIM standardised difference | |
| Demographics | ||||
| Male | 1631 (50.3%) | 578 (51.4%) | 1053 (49.7%) | 0.0332 |
| Age median (IQR) | 71.00 (59.00–81.00) | 71.00 (57.00–81.00) | 72.00 (59.00–82.00) | 0.1010 |
| Length of stay | ||||
| Length of stay, days: median (IQR) | 5.72 (3.38–10.91) | 5.31 (3.00–9.65) | 5.97 (3.48–11.80) | 0.1119 |
| Admission day | ||||
| Weekend (Saturday or Sunday) | 838 (25.8%) | 317 (28.2%) | 521 (24.6%) | 0.0813 |
| Admission month | ||||
| January | 271 (8.4%) | 107 (9.5%) | 164 (7.7%) | 0.0630 |
| February | 231 (7.1%) | 82 (7.3%) | 149 (7.0%) | 0.0098 |
| March | 282 (8.7%) | 85 (7.6%) | 197 (9.3%) | 0.0629 |
| April | 246 (7.6%) | 69 (6.1%) | 177 (8.4%) | 0.0859 |
| May | 256 (7.9%) | 83 (7.4%) | 173 (8.2%) | 0.0295 |
| June | 291 (9.0%) | 111 (9.9%) | 180 (8.5%) | 0.0474 |
| July | 297 (9.2%) | 96 (8.5%) | 201 (9.5%) | 0.0334 |
| August | 301 (9.3%) | 91 (8.1%) | 210 (9.9%) | 0.0638 |
| September | 250 (7.7%) | 104 (9.2%) | 146 (6.9%) | 0.0864 |
| October | 281 (8.7%) | 104 (9.2%) | 177 (8.4%) | 0.0313 |
| November | 266 (8.2%) | 94 (8.1%) | 172 (8.4%) | 0.0085 |
| December | 271 (8.4%) | 99 (8.8%) | 172 (8.1%) | 0.0244 |
| Capacity ratio median (IQR) | 1.34 (1.25–1.41) | 1.35 (1.26–1.41) | 1.34 (1.25–1.41) | 0.0396 |
| Clinical teaching unit (CTU) team | ||||
| A | 820 (25.3%) | 264 (23.5%) | 556 (26.3%) | 0.0644 |
| B | 786 (24.2%) | 248 (22.0%) | 538 (25.4%) | 0.0790 |
| C | 827 (25.5%) | 315 (28.0%) | 512 (24.2%) | 0.0872 |
| D | 810 (25.0) | 298 (26.5%) | 512 (24.2%) | 0.0533 |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index Score | ||||
| 0 | 888 (27.4%) | 324 (28.8%) | 564 (26.6%) | 0.0485 |
| 1 | 708 (21.8%) | 236 (21.0%) | 472 (22.3%) | 0.0318 |
| >=2 | 1647 (50.8%) | 565 (50.2%) | 1082 (51.1%) | 0.0173 |
| Resource intensity weight (RIW) Median (IQR) | 1.08 (0.70–1.90) | 1.04 (0.69–1.72) | 1.11 (0.71–2.01) | 0.0757 |
| Top seven case mix group (admission diagnosis) | ||||
| 139 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 313 (9.7%) | 97 (8.6%) | 216 (10.2%) | 0.0540 |
| 138 Viral/unspecified pneumonia | 188 (5.8%) | 62 (5.5%) | 126 (6.0%) | 0.0188 |
| 487 Lower urinary tract infection | 152 (4.7%) | 37 (3.3%) | 115 (5.4%) | 0.1050 |
| 196 Heart failure without cardiac catheter | 125 (3.9%) | 42 (3.7%) | 83 (3.9%) | 0.0097 |
| 477 Renal failure | 110 (3.4%) | 41 (3.6%) | 69 (3.3%) | 0.0212 |
| 254 Gastrointestinal haemorrhage | 88 (2.7%) | 41 (3.6%) | 47 (2.2%) | 0.0846 |
| 437 Diabetes | 76 (2.3%) | 25 (2.2%) | 51 (2.4%) | 0.0123 |
For full list of Charlson Comorbidity Index comorbidities and top 52 case mix groups (CMGs), please see online supplementary appendix table 1.