Work

Variation in Long-Term Acute Care Hospital Use After Intensive Care

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: Long-term acute care hospitals (LTACs) are an increasingly common discharge destination for patients recovering from intensive care. In this article the authors use U.S. Medicare claims data to examine regional- and hospital-level variation in LTAC utilization after intensive care to determine factors associated with their use. Using hierarchical regression models to control for patient characteristics, this study found wide variation in LTAC utilization across hospitals, even controlling for LTAC access within a region. Several hospital characteristics were independently associated with increasing LTAC utilization, including increasing hospital size, for-profit ownership, academic teaching status, and colocation of the LTAC within an acute care hospital. These findings highlight the need for research into LTAC admission criteria and the incentives driving variation in LTAC utilization across hospitals.

Source: Medical Care Research and Review

DOI: 10.1177/1077558711432889

Authors: Jeremy M. Kahn, Rachel M. Werner, Shannon S. Carson, Theodore J. Iwashyna

Institutions: University of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia VA Medical Center, University of Pennsylvania, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Michigan

Language: English

Topic: Healthcare Policy and Management

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute