Factors associated with prolonged observation services stays and the impact of long stays on patient cost.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patients are treated using observation services (OS) when their care needs exceed standard outpatient care (i.e., clinic or emergency department) but do not qualify for admission. Medicare and other private payers seek to limit this care setting to 48 hours.

Data source/study setting

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data from 10 states and data collected from two additional states for 2009.

Study design

Bivariate analyses and hierarchical linear modeling were used to examine patient- and hospital-level predictors of OS stays exceeding 48 (and 72) hours (prolonged OS). Hierarchical models were used to examine the additional cost associated with longer OS stays.

Principal findings

Of the 696,732 patient OS stays, 8.8 percent were for visits exce

SUBMITTER: Hockenberry JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4231577 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature