Variation in Inpatient Consultation Among Older Adults in the United States.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Differences among hospitals in the use of inpatient consultation may contribute to variation in outcomes and costs for hospitalized patients, but basic epidemiologic data on consultations nationally are lacking.

Objective

The purpose of the study was to identify physician, hospital, and geographic factors that explain variation in rates of inpatient consultation.

Design

This was a retrospective observational study.

Setting and participants

This work included 3,118,080 admissions of Medicare patients to 4,501 U.S. hospitals in 2009 and 2010.

Main measures

The primary outcome measured was number of consultations conducted during the hospitalization, summarized at the hospital level as the number of consultations per 1,000 Medicare admissions, or

SUBMITTER: Stevens JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4471009 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature