ContextLimitations in duty hours for physicians-in-training in the United States were
established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and
implemented on July 1, 2003. The association of these changes with mortality among
hospitalized patients has not been well established. ObjectiveTo determine whether the
change in duty hour regulations was associated with relative changes in mortality in
hospitals of different teaching intensity within the US Veterans Affairs (VA) system. Design …

Conclusion: New duty hour regulations implemented by the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) were associated with relative improvement in
mortality in four common medical conditions in teaching-intensive Veterans Administration
(VA) hospitals. No mortality changes were identified for surgical patients. Summary: On July
1, 2003, the ACGME instituted limitations in duty hours for United States resident physicians.
The study sought to determine whether there was an associated change in mortality among …