Trends in Receipt of Help at Home After Hospital Discharge Among Older Adults in the US.

Importance: With declining use of institutional postacute care, more patients are going directly home after hospital discharge. The consequences on the amount of help needed at home after discharge are unknown. Objective: To estimate trends in the frequency and duration of receipt of help with activities of daily living (ADLs) among older adults discharged home. Design, Setting, and Participants: Repeated cross-sectional study of a national sample of community-dwelling older adults who returned home after hospital discharge from 2011 to 2017. Participants included respondents to National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), an annual population-based, nationally representative survey of Medicare beneficiaries, who were 69 years or older and were discharged from an acute care hospital to home during the years of the study. A nationally representative sample was estimated using NHATS' analytic weights. Unweighted frequencies and weighted and unweighted percentages are reported. The analysis was conducted from September 2020 to October 2021. Exposures: Discharge from an acute care hospitalization. Main Outcomes and Measures: Receipt of help with ADLs during the 3 months after hospital discharge. Results: Of the 3591 survey participants who were discharged home from an acute care hospital during the study period, 53.3% were female, 54.8% were married or living with a partner, and the mean (SD) age was 78.5 (7.0) years. Of these, 1710 (44.1%) reported receiving help within 3 months of discharge. Compared with people not receiving help, those receiving help were older (mean [SD] years, 79.7 [7.5] years vs 77.6 [6.3] years), had worse self-rated health at baseline (47.1% with fair or poor health vs 26.5%) and were more likely to have dementia (21.8% vs 5.5%). The percentage of respondents who reported receiving help increased during the study period from 38.1% of hospital discharges in 2011 to 51.5% in 2017. For those who were independent in their ADLs before hospitalization, the percentage receiving help after discharge more than doubled over the study period increasing from 9.3% receiving help in 2011 to 31.8% in 2017. Among patients who did not receive Medicare-reimbursed home health, the percentage receiving help also increased from 22.1% to 28.1%. Among those who received help after discharge, the need for help slowly declined to prehospitalization levels over the ensuing 9 months. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, older adults' receipt of help at home after hospital discharge increased from 2011 to 2017, including patients relying on non-Medicare funded sources of care. As payers steer patients away from inpatient postacute care facilities, policymakers will need to pay attention to this shifting burden of care.

Challenges and Lessons Learned for Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation of Persons With COVID-19: Clinical Presentation, Assessment, Needs, and Services Utilization.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to present: (1) physiatric care delivery amid the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, (2) challenges, (3) data from the first cohort of post-COVID-19 inpatient rehabilitation facility patients, and (4) lessons learned by a research consortium of New York and New Jersey rehabilitation institutions. DESIGN: For this clinical descriptive retrospective study, data were extracted from post-COVID-19 patient records treated at a research consortium of New York and New Jersey rehabilitation inpatient rehabilitation facilities (May 1-June 30, 2020) to characterize admission criteria, physical space, precautions, bed numbers, staffing, employee wellness, leadership, and family communication. For comparison, data from the Uniform Data System and eRehabData databases were analyzed. The research consortium of New York and New Jersey rehabilitation members discussed experiences and lessons learned. RESULTS: The COVID-19 patients (N = 320) were treated during the study period. Most patients were male, average age of 61.9 yrs, and 40.9% were White. The average acute care length of stay before inpatient rehabilitation facility admission was 24.5 days; mean length of stay at inpatient rehabilitation facilities was 15.2 days. The rehabilitation research consortium of New York and New Jersey rehabilitation institutions reported a greater proportion of COVID-19 patients discharged to home compared with prepandemic data. Some institutions reported higher changes in functional scores during rehabilitation admission, compared with prepandemic data. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic acutely affected patient care and overall institutional operations. The research consortium of New York and New Jersey rehabilitation institutions responded dynamically to bed expansions/contractions, staff deployment, and innovations that facilitated safe and effective patient care.

An international comparison of long-term care trajectories and spending following hip fracture.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of this study are to compare the relative use of different postacute care settings in different countries and to compare three important outcomes as follows: total expenditure, total days of care in different care settings, and overall longevity over a 1-year period following a hip fracture. DATA SOURCES: We used administrative data from hospitals, institutional and home-based long-term care (LTC), physician visits, and medications compiled by the International Collaborative on Costs, Outcomes, and Needs in Care (ICCONIC) from five countries as follows: Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden. DATA EXTRACTION METHODS: Data were extracted from existing administrative data systems in each participating country. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study of all individuals admitted to acute care for hip fracture. Descriptive comparisons were used to examine aggregate institutional and home-based postacute care. Care trajectories were created to track sequential care settings after acute-care discharge through institutional and community-based care in three countries where detailed information allowed. Comparisons in patient characteristics, utilization, and costs were made across these trajectories and countries. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Across five countries with complete LTC data, we found notable variations with Germany having the highest days of home-based services with relatively low costs, while Sweden incurred the highest overall expenditures. Comparisons of trajectories found that France had the highest use of inpatient rehabilitation. Germany was most likely to discharge hip fracture patients to home. Over 365 days, France averaged the highest number of days in institution with 104, Canada followed at 94, and Germany had just 87 days of institutional care on average. CONCLUSION: In this comparison of LTC services following a hip fracture, we found international differences in total use of institutional and noninstitutional care, longevity, and total expenditures. There exist opportunities to organize postacute care differently to maximize independence and mitigate costs.

Is Discordance Between Recommended and Actual Postacute Discharge Setting a Risk Factor for Readmission in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure?

Background Readmissions in patients with congestive heart failure are common and often preventable. Limited data suggest that patients discharged to a less intensive postacute care setting than recommended are likely to readmit. We examined whether postacute setting discordance (discharge to a less intensive postacute setting than recommended by a physical and occupational therapist) was associated with hospital readmission in patients with congestive heart failure. We also assessed sociodemographic and clinical predictors of setting discordance. Methods and Results Retrospective analysis of administrative claims and electronic health record data was conducted on 25 500 adults with a discharge diagnosis of congestive heart failure from 12 acute care hospitals in Western Pennsylvania. Generalized linear mixed models were estimated to examine the association between postacute setting discordance and 30-day hospital readmission and to identify predictors of setting discordance. The 30-day readmission and postacute setting discordance rates were high (23.7%, 20.6%). While controlling for demographic and clinical covariates, patients in discordant postacute settings were more likely to be readmitted within 30 days (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.20). The effect was also seen in the subgroup of patients with low mobility scores (adjusted OR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.08-1.33). Factors associated with setting discordance were lower-income, higher comorbidity burden, therapist recommendation disagreement, and midrange mobility limitations. Conclusions Postacute setting discordance was associated with an increased readmission risk in patients hospitalized with congestive heart failure. Maximizing concordance between therapist recommended and actual postacute discharge setting may decrease readmissions. Understanding factors associated with post-acute setting discordance can inform strategies to improve the quality of the discharge process.

Longer length of post-acute care stay causes greater functional improvements in poststroke patients.

ABSTRACT: Post-acute care (PAC) is a type of transitional care for poststroke patients after the acute medical stage; it offers a relatively intensive rehabilitative program. Under Taiwan's National Health Insurance guidelines, the only patients who can transfer to PAC institutions are those who have had an acute stroke in the previous month, are in a relatively stable medical condition, and have the potential for improvement after aggressive rehabilitation. Poststroke patients receive physical, occupational, and speech therapy in PAC facility. However, few studies have evaluated the effects of PAC in poststroke patients since PAC's initiation in Taiwan. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether the length of stay in a PAC institution correlates with patients' improvements.This retrospective and single-center study in Taiwan enrolled 193 poststroke patients who had received acute care at Chi-Mei Medical Center, Taiwan, at any period between 2014 and 2017. Data on their length of stay in the PAC institution were collected. Poststroke patients' functional ability-such as activities of daily living (ADL) function and swallowing ability-as well as their corresponding scales were assessed on the first and last day of PAC stay. Statistical analysis was conducted by SPSS version 21.0 .The average duration of PAC stay was 35.01 ±â€Š16.373 days. Duration of PAC stay was significantly positively correlated with the Barthel index (P < .001), Berg balance test score (P < .001), gait speed (P = .002), and upper sensory function and upper motor function within the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (both P < .001).Poststroke patients with longer stay in a PAC institution had superior ADL function, balance and coordination, walking speed, and upper-limb dexterity and sensory function.

Multimorbidity and Its Relationship With Long-Term Outcomes After Critical Care Discharge: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Survivors of critical illness have poor long-term outcomes with subsequent increases in health care utilization. Less is known about the interplay between multimorbidity and long-term outcomes. RESEARCH QUESTION: How do baseline patient demographics impact mortality and health care utilization in the year after discharge from critical care? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Using data from a prospectively collected cohort, we used propensity score matching to assess differences in outcomes between patients with a critical care encounter and patients admitted to the hospital without critical care. Long-term mortality was examined via nationally linked data as was hospital resource use in the year after hospital discharge. The cause of death was also examined. RESULTS: This analysis included 3,112 participants. There was no difference in long-term mortality between the critical care and hospital cohorts (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.90-1.32; P = .39). Prehospitalization emotional health issues (eg, clinical diagnosis of depression) were associated with increased long-term mortality (hazard ratio, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.14-1.96; P < .004). Health care utilization was different between the two cohorts in the year after discharge with the critical care cohort experiencing a 29% increased risk of hospital readmission (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.11-1.50; P = .001). INTERPRETATION: This national cohort study has demonstrated increased resource use for critical care survivors in the year after discharge but fails to replicate past findings of increased longer-term mortality. Multimorbidity, lifestyle factors, and socioeconomic status appear to influence long-term outcomes and should be the focus of future research.

Outcomes of post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities in Medicare beneficiaries with and without a diagnosis of dementia.

BACKGROUND: More than 600,000 Medicare beneficiaries with a diagnosis of dementia are discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) after hospitalization annually. However, it is unclear how their risks and benefits of a SNF stay compare to beneficiaries without a diagnosis of dementia. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis comparing SNF outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with and without a diagnosis of dementia. SETTING: One hundred percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries from 2015 to 2016. PARTICIPANTS: Dementia was identified using validated diagnosis codes. In beneficiaries who had an acute hospitalization followed by SNF stay, we used propensity score matching to balance demographics, comorbidities, characteristics of the index hospital stay, prior hospital and SNF utilization, and cognitive status on SNF admission. MEASUREMENTS: Outcomes included unplanned hospital readmission, community discharge rate, and mortality during the SNF stay. Multivariate models were adjusted for hospital and SNF characteristics. RESULTS: Our sample included 2,418,853 Medicare beneficiaries discharged from hospital to SNF; 830,524 (34.3%) carried a diagnosis of dementia. Overall, 14.7% of the sample had a hospital readmission, 5.0% died, and 61.5% were successfully discharged to the community. In the propensity-matched cohort, beneficiaries with a diagnosis of dementia had a lower odds ratio of mortality (OR 0.87; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.86-0.89), similar odds of hospital readmission (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.98-1.00), and reduced odds of discharge to the community (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.91-0.93). However, these findings varied by the severity of cognitive impairment on SNF admission: in beneficiaries with no impairment, those with a diagnosis of dementia had higher odds of adverse outcomes. In beneficiaries with severe impairment, beneficiaries with a diagnosis of dementia had lower odds of adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive dysfunction on SNF admission is a stronger predictor of outcomes than a diagnosis of dementia, suggesting the need to individualize decisions about the benefits and risks of SNF care in populations with cognitive impairment.

Evaluation of the Reliability of Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary for Post-Acute Care.

BACKGROUND: A measure of episode spending, such as Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB) is increasingly used to evaluate provider performance. Yet if the measure is unreliable, as is often true for low-volume providers, it cannot distinguish "good" from "poor" performance. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of a uniformly calculated MSPB measure for post-acute care (PAC) and the tradeoffs involved in setting a minimum case count threshold. DATA: Medicare claims for 15 million PAC episodes from April 2013 to March 2015. RESEARCH DESIGN: Given the overlap in patients treated in PAC settings, we developed a uniformly calculated MSPB measure for PAC providers that measures spending during the PAC stay and the following 30 days. We examine variation in the MSPB-PAC measure and characterize the measure's reliability and its relationship to provider case counts. RESULTS: Applied to our MSPB-PAC measure, a minimum threshold of 20 Medicare episodes as currently used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would not establish reasonably reliable measures and could result in drawing unduly erroneous conclusions about provider performance. The measures for home health agencies were considerably less stable and reliable than for institutional PAC providers. CONCLUSIONS: CMS should consider adopting a more stringent reliability standard for setting minimum case counts for MSPB-PAC and other measures. Its current threshold (R-statistic=0.4) reflects more random variation than differences in actual provider performance. To include as many providers as possible, CMS should consider pooling data over multiple years to avoid drawing incorrect conclusions about low-volume providers.

Institutional Postacute Care Use May Help Reduce Readmissions for Ischemic Stroke Patients.

OBJECTIVES: Readmissions for Medicare patients initially admitted for stroke are common and costly. Rehabilitation in an institutional postacute care (PAC) setting is an evidence-based component of recovery for stroke. Under current Medicare payment reforms, care coordination across hospitals and PAC providers is key to improving quality and efficiency of care. We examined the causal impact of institutional PAC use on 30-day readmission rates for Medicare fee-for-service patients initially admitted for ischemic stroke. DATA SOURCES: The 2010-2016 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files. RESEARCH DESIGN: We used the method of instrumental variable (IV) analysis to control for unobserved differences in the types of patients admitted to each PAC facility. We chose the distance from the patient's residence to the closest institutional PAC provider and the number of PAC providers of each type within a county where the patient resides as IVs. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the naive model, an increase in institutional PAC use was significantly associated with an increase in 30-day readmission by 0.03 percentage points. However, using IV analysis to control for endogeneity bias, an increase in institutional PAC use was associated with a decrease in 30-day readmission rate by 0.19 percentage points. Our findings indicate that reducing institutional PAC use among patients typically requiring rehabilitation in institutional settings for recovery may potentially lead to adverse postdischarge outcomes that require rehospitalization. Thus, payment incentives to reduce institutional PAC use should be balanced with postdischarge outcomes among ischemic stroke patients.

Care-Partner Support and Hospitalization in Assisted Living During Transitional Home Health Care.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Care-partner support affects outcomes among assisted living (AL) residents. Yet, little is known about care-partner support and its effects on hospitalization during post-acute care transitions. This study examined the variation in care-partner support and its impact on hospitalizations among AL residents receiving Medicare home health (HH) services. DESIGN: Analysis of national data from the Outcome and Assessment Information Set, Medicare claims, Area Health Resources File, and the Social Deprivation Index File. SETTING: AL facilities and Medicare HH agencies in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: 741,926 Medicare HH admissions of AL residents in 2017. MEASUREMENTS: Care-partner support during the HH admission was measured based on the type and frequency of assistance from AL staff in seven domains (i.e., activities of daily living (ADL), instrumental ADLs, medication administration, treatment, medical equipment, home safety, and transportation). Care-partner support in each domain was measured as "assistance not needed" (reference group), "Care-partner currently provides assistance," "care-partner need additional training/support to provide assistance" (i.e., inadequate care-partner support), and "care-partner unavailable/unlikely to provide assistance" (i.e., unavailable care-partner support). Outcome was time-to-hospitalization during the HH admission. RESULTS: Among the 741,926 Medicare HH admissions of AL residents, inadequate care-partner support was identified for all seven domains that ranged from 13.1% (for transportation) to 49.8% (for treatment), and care-partner support was unavailable from 0.9% (for transportation) to 11.0% (for treatment). In Cox proportional hazard models adjusted for patient covariates and geography, compared with "assistance not needed", having inadequate and unavailable care-partner support was related to increased risk of hospitalization by 8.9% (treatment (hazard ratio (HR) =1.089, P < .001)) to 41.3% (medication administration (HR =1.413, P < .001)). CONCLUSION: For AL residents receiving HH services, having less care-partner support was related to increased risk of hospitalization, particularly regarding medication administration, medical equipment, and transportation/advocacy.

COPD Comorbidity Profiles and 2-Year Trajectory of Acute and Postacute Care Use.

BACKGROUND: Multiple morbidity is the norm in advanced COPD and contributes to high symptom burden and worse outcomes. RESEARCH QUESTION: Can distinct comorbidity profiles be identified and validated in a community-based sample of patients with COPD from a large integrated health care system using a standard, commonly used diagnostic code-based comorbidity index and downstream 2-year health care use data? STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: In this retrospective cohort study, we used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify comorbidity profiles in a population-based sample of 91,453 patients with a COPD diagnosis between 2011 and 2015. We included specific comorbid conditions from the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) and accounted for variation in underlying prevalence of different comorbidities across the three study sites. Sociodemographic, clinical, and health-care use data were obtained from electronic health records (EHRs). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to compare rates of acute and postacute care use by class. RESULTS: The mean age was 71 ± 11 years, 55% of patients were women, 23% of patients were people of color, and 80% of patients were former or current smokers. LCA identified four distinct comorbidity profiles with progressively higher CCI scores: low morbidity (61%; 1.9 ± 1.4), metabolic renal (21%; 4.7 ± 1.8), cardiovascular (12%; 4.6 ± 1.9), and multimorbidity (7%; 7.5 ± 1.7). In multivariate models, during 2 years of follow-up, a significant, nonoverlapping increase was found in the odds of having any all-cause acute (hospitalizations, observation stays, and ED visits) and postacute care use across the comorbidity profiles. INTERPRETATION: Distinct comorbidity profiles can be identified in patients with COPD using standard EHR-based diagnostic codes, and these profiles are associated with subsequent acute and postacute care use. Population-based risk stratification schemes for end-to-end, comprehensive COPD management should consider integrating comorbidity profiles such as those found in this study.

Evaluation of Nutritional Support and In-Hospital Mortality in Patients With Malnutrition.

Importance: Malnutrition affects a considerable proportion of patients in the hospital and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Recent trials found a survival benefit among patients receiving nutritional support. Objective: To investigate whether there is an association of nutritional support with in-hospital mortality in routine clinical practice. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study was conducted from April 2013 to December 2018 among a population of patients from Swiss administrative claims data. From 114 264 hospitalizations of medical patients with malnutrition, 34 967 patients (30.6%) receiving nutritional support were 1:1 propensity score matched to patients with malnutrition in the hospital who were not receiving nutritional support. Patients in intensive care units were excluded. Data were analyzed from February 2020 to November 2020. Exposures: Receiving nutritional support, including dietary advice, oral nutritional supplementation, or enteral and parenteral nutrition. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were 30-day all-cause hospital readmission and discharge to a postacute care facility. Poisson and logistic regressions were used to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and odds ratios (ORs) of outcomes. Results: After matching, the study identified 69 934 hospitalizations of patients coded as having malnutrition in the cohort (mean [SD] age, 73.8 [14.5] years; 36 776 [52.6%] women). Patients receiving nutritional support, compared with those not receiving nutritional support, had a lower in-hospital mortality rate (2525 of 34 967 patients died [7.2%] vs 3072 of 34 967 patients died [8.8%]; IRR, 0.79 [95% CI, 0.75-0.84]; P < .001) and a reduced 30-day readmission rate (IRR, 0.95 [95% CI, 0.91-0.98]; P = .002). In addition, patients receiving nutritional support were less frequently discharged to a postacute care facility (13 691 patients [42.2%] vs 14 324 patients [44.9%]; OR, 0.89 [95% CI, 0.86-0.91]; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that nutritional support was associated with reduced mortality among patients in the medical ward with malnutrition. The results support data found by randomized clinical trials and may help to inform patients, clinicians, and authorities regarding the usefulness of nutritional support in clinical practice.

Artificial neural network-based prediction of prolonged length of stay and need for post-acute care in acute coronary syndrome patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged length of stay (LOS) and post-acute care after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is common and costly. Risk models for predicting prolonged LOS and post-acute care have limited accuracy. Our goal was to develop and validate models using artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict prolonged LOS > 7days and need for post-acute care after PCI. METHODS: We defined prolonged LOS as ≥7 days and post-acute care as patients discharged to: extended care, transitional care unit, rehabilitation, other acute care hospital, nursing home or hospice care. Data from 22 675 patients who presented with ACS and underwent PCI was shuffled and split into a derivation set (75% of dataset) and a validation dataset (25% of dataset). Calibration plots were used to examine the overall predictive performance of the MLP by plotting observed and expected risk deciles and fitting a lowess smoother to the data. Classification accuracy was assessed by a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the ROC curve (AUC). RESULTS: Our MLP-based model predicted prolonged LOS with an accuracy of 90.87% and 88.36% in training and test sets, respectively. The post-acute care model had an accuracy of 90.22% and 86.31% in training and test sets, respectively. This accuracy was achieved with quick convergence. Predicted probabilities from the MLP models showed good (prolonged LOS) to excellent calibration (post-acute care). CONCLUSIONS: Our ANN-based models accurately predicted LOS and need for post-acute care. Larger studies for replicability and longitudinal studies for evidence of impact are needed to establish these models in current PCI practice.

Risk Factors for Post-acute care Following Free Flap Reconstruction of the Oral Cavity.

OBJECTIVE: Identify previously unreported factors that predict the need for post-acute care after free flap reconstruction of the oral cavity. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Single academic medical center. METHODS: A total of 134 patients with head and neck disease involving the oral cavity underwent free tissue transfer for reconstruction between August 2012 and October 2015. All patients had a tracheostomy placed at the time of surgery. Data were collected, including demographics, perioperative risk factors, and social variables. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to identify risk factors for needing post-acute care. RESULTS: Of 134 patients, 37 (28%) required post-acute care upon discharge, and 97 of 134 (72%) were discharged home with assistance. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that lack of family support (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 32.12; 95% CI, 13.75-274.90; P = .002), tracheostomy tube at discharge (AOR, 13.70; 95% CI, 3.20-58.44; P < .001), government insurance (AOR, 3.85; 95% CI, 1.13-13.11; P = .031), hospital stay >10 days (AOR, 3.52; 95% CI, 1.25-9.90; P = .017), and increasing age (AOR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04-1.18; P = .003) were significantly associated with post-acute care need. CONCLUSION: Lack of family support, tracheostomy tube at discharge, government insurance, hospital stay >10 days, and increasing age are independently associated with the need for post-acute care following free flap reconstruction of the oral cavity. Physicians, social workers, and nurse case managers are positioned to identify patients at high risk for needing post-acute care and to reduce the duration of hospitalizations.

Understanding Variation in Postacute Care: Developing Rehabilitation Service Areas Through Geographic Mapping.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to demonstrate a method for developing rehabilitation service areas and to compare service areas based on postacute care rehabilitation admissions to service areas based on acute care hospital admissions. DESIGN: We conducted a secondary analysis of 2013-2014 Medicare records for older patients in Texas (N = 469,172). Our analysis included admission records for inpatient rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, and home health agencies. We used Ward's algorithm to cluster patient ZIP Code Tabulation Areas based on which facilities patients were admitted to for rehabilitation. For comparison, we set the number of rehabilitation clusters to 22 to allow for comparison to the 22 hospital referral regions in Texas. Two methods were used to evaluate rehabilitation service areas: intraclass correlation coefficient and variance in the number of rehabilitation beds across areas. RESULTS: Rehabilitation service areas had a higher intraclass correlation coefficient (0.081 vs. 0.076) and variance in beds (27.8 vs. 21.4). Our findings suggest that service areas based on rehabilitation admissions capture has more variation than those based on acute hospital admissions. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the use of rehabilitation service areas would lead to more accurate assessments of rehabilitation geographic variations and their use in understanding rehabilitation outcomes.

The Cost of Implementing and Sustaining the COMprehensive Post-Acute Stroke Services Model.

BACKGROUND: The COMprehensive Post-Acute Stroke Services (COMPASS) model, a transitional care intervention for stroke patients discharged home, was tested against status quo postacute stroke care in a cluster-randomized trial in 40 hospitals in North Carolina. This study examined the hospital-level costs associated with implementing and sustaining COMPASS. METHODS: Using an activity-based costing survey, we estimated hospital-level resource costs spent on COMPASS-related activities during approximately 1 year. We identified hospitals that were actively engaged in COMPASS during the year before the survey and collected resource cost estimates from 22 hospitals. We used median wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and COMPASS enrollment data to estimate the hospital-level costs per COMPASS enrollee. RESULTS: Between November 2017 and March 2019, 1582 patients received the COMPASS intervention across the 22 hospitals included in this analysis. Average annual hospital-level COMPASS costs were $2861 per patient (25th percentile: $735; 75th percentile: $3,475). Having 10% higher stroke patient volume was associated with 5.1% lower COMPASS costs per patient (P=0.016). About half (N=10) of hospitals reported postacute clinic visits as their highest-cost activity, while a third (N=7) reported case ascertainment (ie, identifying eligible patients) as their highest-cost activity. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the costs of implementing COMPASS varied across hospitals. On average, hospitals with higher stroke volume and higher enrollment reported lower costs per patient. Based on average costs of COMPASS and readmissions for stroke patients, COMPASS could lower net costs if the model is able to prevent about 6 readmissions per year.

Association of Mandatory Bundled Payments for Joint Replacement With Postacute Care Outcomes Among Medicare and Medicaid Dual Eligible Patients.

IMPORTANCE: The Medicare comprehensive care for joint replacement (CJR) model, a mandatory bundled payment program started in April 2016 for hospitals in randomly selected metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), may help reduce postacute care (PAC) use and episode costs, but its impact on disparities between Medicaid and non-Medicaid beneficiaries is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine effects of the CJR program on differences (or disparities) in PAC use and outcomes by Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibility status. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Observational cohort study of 2013-2017, based on difference-in-differences (DID) analyses on Medicare data for 1,239,452 Medicare-only patients, 57,452 dual eligibles with full Medicaid benefits, and 50,189 dual eligibles with partial Medicaid benefits who underwent hip or knee surgery in hospitals of 75 CJR MSAs and 121 control MSAs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Risk-adjusted differences in rates of institutional PAC [skilled nursing facility (SNF), inpatient rehabilitation, or long-term hospital care] use and readmissions; and for the subgroup of patients discharged to SNF, risk-adjusted differences in SNF length of stay, payments, and quality measured by star ratings, rate of successful discharge to community, and rate of transition to long-stay nursing home resident. RESULTS: The CJR program was associated with reduced institutional PAC use and readmissions for patients in all 3 groups. For example, it was associated with reductions in 90-day readmission rate by 1.8 percentage point [DID estimate=-1.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), -2.6 to -0.9; P<0.001] for Medicare-only patients, by 1.6 percentage points (DID estimate=-1.6; 95% CI, -3.1 to -0.1; P=0.04) for full-benefit dual eligibles, and by 2.0 percentage points (DID estimate=-2.0; 95% CI, -3.6 to -0.4; P=0.01) for partial-benefit dual eligibles. These CJR-associated effects did not differ between dual eligibles (differences in above DID estimates=0.2; 95% CI, -1.4 to 1.7; P=0.81 for full-benefit patients; and -0.3; 95% CI, -1.9 to 1.3; P=0.74 for partial-benefit patients) and Medicare-only patients. Among patients discharged to SNF, the CJR program showed no effect on successful community discharge, transition to long-term care, or their persistent disparities. CONCLUSIONS: The CJR program did not help reduce persistent disparities in readmissions or SNF-specific outcomes related to Medicare-Medicaid dual eligibility, likely due to its lack of financial incentives for reduced disparities and improved SNF outcomes.

How skilled are skilled facilities? Post-discharge complications after colorectal cancer surgery in the U.S.

BACKGROUND: Characteristics and indications for discharging patients to home or a specific facility type have been studied; however, critical evaluation of these facilities through analysis of post-discharge complications and readmission rates is mandatory. The aim of this study was to compare complications occurring after discharge to home, skilled, and unskilled care facilities to identify potential pitfalls. METHODS: All adult (≥18 years) patients who underwent surgery for colon or rectal cancer from 2012 to 2017 as reported in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database were included. Patients were categorized according to the discharge destination into: home, skilled care (rehabilitation center, separate acute care, skilled facility), and unskilled care (multilevel senior community, facility which is home, unskilled facility). Demographics, surgical risk factors and predischarge complications were compared between the three groups. Primary endpoints were overall, major, surgical, and medical complications occurring post-discharge, within 30 days of surgery. Further assessed were specific complications, readmission, length of stay, and 30-day mortality. RESULTS: A total of 108,617 patients were identified. Of them, 100,478 (92%) discharged to home, 7313 (7%) to skilled, and 826 (1%) to unskilled care. Of patients discharged to skilled care, 1928 (26%) discharged to rehabilitation centers, 368 (5%) to separate acute care, and 5017 (69%) to skilled facilities. Adjusted overall, major, surgical, and medical post-discharge complications were highest among patients discharged to skilled care destinations. Subgroup analysis revealed separate acute care (inter-hospital transfer) to be associated with the highest morbidity. Main reasons for readmission were primarily related to surgical site infection and intestinal obstruction among the three main destinations, whereas readmissions for systemic sepsis and medical complications were more frequent in patients admitted to skilled care. CONCLUSION: This study identified higher rates of post-discharge complications associated with skilled care destinations, despite risk adjustment. This over-morbidity is potentially related to prevailing medical complications and inter-hospital transfers. Further studies are needed to better understand those findings and to improve quality of post-acute care and related outcomes.

Effect of statewide reduction in extended care facility use after joint replacement on hospital readmission.

BACKGROUND: Extended care facility use is a primary driver of variation in hospitalization-associated health care payments and is increasingly a focus for savings under episode-based payment. However, concerns remain that extended care facility limits could incur rising readmissions, emergency department use, or other costs. We analyzed the effects of a statewide value improvement initiative to decrease extended care facility use after lower extremity arthroplasty on extended care facility use, readmission, emergency department use, and payments. METHODS: We performed a retrospective cohort study using complete claims from the Michigan Value Collaborative for patients undergoing lower extremity joint replacement. We compared the change in extended care facility use before (2012-2013) and after (2016-2017) the aforementioned statewide initiative with 90-day postacute care, readmission, and emergency department rates and payments using t tests. RESULTS: Of the patients included, 68,537 underwent total knee arthroplasty; 27,131 underwent total hip arthroplasty. Statewide, extended care facility use and postacute care payments decreased (extended care facility: 27.5% before vs 18.1% after, payments: $4,999 vs $3,832, P < .0001) without increased readmission rates (8.0% vs 7.6%, P = .10) or payments ($1,087 vs $1,026, P = .14). Emergency department use increased (7.8% vs 8.9%, P < .0001). Per hospital, there was no association between extended care facility use change and readmission rate change (r = 0.05). Hospital change in extended care facility use ranged from +2.3% (no extended care facility decrease group) to -16.6% (large extended care facility decrease group) and was associated with lower total episode payments without differences in change in readmission rate/payments or emergency department use. CONCLUSION: Despite decreased use of extended care facilities, there was no compensatory increase in readmission rate or payments. Reducing excess use of extended care facilities after joint replacement may be an important opportunity for savings in episode-based reimbursement.

Patient Factors Linked with Return Acute Healthcare Use in Older Adults by Discharge Disposition.

OBJECTIVES: Compare patient characteristics by hospital discharge disposition (home without services, home with home healthcare (HHC) services, or post-acute care (PAC) facilities). Examine timing and rates of 30-day healthcare utilization (rehospitalization, emergency department (ED) visit, or observation (OBS) visit) and patient characteristics associated with rehospitalization by discharge location. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of hospital administrative and clinical data. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 3,294 older adult inpatients discharged home with or without HHC services or to a PAC facility. MEASUREMENTS: Patient-level sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Number of and time to occurrences of rehospitalization or ED/OBS visit within 30 days of hospital discharge. RESULTS: Most rehospitalizations and ED/OBS visits occurred within 14 days from hospital discharge. Patients who returned within 24 hours came mostly from inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). More intense levels of PAC services were linked with higher rehospitalization risk. However, specific predictors differed by discharge location. Being unemployed, being single, and having more comorbidities were most associated with rehospitalization in those who went home with or without services, whereas patients rehospitalized from IRFs were younger, with less chronic illness burden, but greater and recent functional decline. Those discharged with HHC services had more return ED/OBS visits. CONCLUSIONS: Although sicker patients were referred for more intense levels of PAC services, patients with greater chronic illness burden were still most often rehospitalized. In addition to unique patient differences, rehospitalizations from IRF within 24 hours suggest systems factors are contributory. Most return acute healthcare utilization occurred within 14 days; therefore, interventions should focus on smoothing transitions to all discharge locations. Because predictors of rehospitalization risk differed by discharge disposition, future research is necessary to study approaches aimed at matching patients' care needs with the most suitable PAC services at the right time. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:2279-2287, 2020.