NHS Grampian board members are to be told of the success of a “concerted effort” to tackle bed blocking.
Figures for January show a year-on-year fall of 578 bed days lost due to delayed discharge.
The main reason for delays in allowing patients to leave hospital as soon as they are well enough remains having somewhere else for them to go.
And in Moray and across Grampian, issues continue around “completion of care arrangements”.
Nonetheless, bed days lost in Aberdeen fell by 464, year-on-year, while in Aberdeenshire there was a decrease of 123.
The only rise was in Moray, where patients remained in hospital an extra 115 days.
Health bosses have been cautioned that numbers do fluctuate, but overall the figures show a downward trend.
And there has been further success in reducing the number of emergency bed days for over-75s.
The latest figures, for the year ending January 2018, reveal there were 4,218 bed days lost per 100,000 people – a 5% decrease on the previous year.
Moray enjoyed the greatest reduction at 7%, compared to 4.4% and 4.5% in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire respectively.
The next phase of work to cut down on delayed discharge could include assessments at A&E and admissions to determine if hospital is the most appropriate place for patients.