Abstract
Publicly available data from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services were used to analyze factors associated with removal of the urinary catheter within 48 hours after surgery in 59 Massachusetts hospitals. Three factors explained 36% of the variance in postoperative urinary catheter removal: fewer falls per 1000 discharges, better nurse-patient communication, and higher percentage of Medicare patients. Timely urinary catheter removal was significantly greater in hospitals with more licensed nursing hours per patient day.