Hospitalizations of nursing homes residents: the role of reimbursement policies

Preventable hospitalizations from ambulatory care sensitive conditions in nursing homes: evidence from Switzerland

OBJECTIVES

Reducing nursing home hospitalizations for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) has been identified as an opportunity to improve patient well-being and reduce costs. The aim of this study was to identify number of hospitalizations for ACSCs for nursing home residents in a Swiss national sample, examine demographic characteristics of nursing home hospitalizations due to ACSCs, and calculate hospital expenses from these hospitalizations.

METHODS

Using merged hospital administrative data with payment data based on diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) for the year 2013, we descriptively examined nursing home residents who were 65 years of age or older and were admitted to an acute care hospital.

RESULTS

Approximately 42% of all nursing home admissions were due to ACSCs. Payments to Swiss hospitals for ACSCs can be estimated at between 89 and 105 million Swiss francs in 2013.

CONCLUSIONS

A sizable share of hospitalizations for nursing home residents is for ACSCs, and the associated costs are substantial. Programs and policies designed to reduce these potentially avoidable hospitalizations from the nursing home setting could lead to an increased patient well-being and lower costs.

Potentially avoidable hospitalisations of German nursing home patients? A cross-sectional study on utilisation patterns and potential consequences for healthcare

OBJECTIVES

Demand for nursing home (NH) care is soaring due to gains in life expectancy and people living longer with chronic illness and disability. This is dovetailing with workforce shortages across the healthcare profession. Access to timely and appropriate medical care for NH residents is becoming increasingly challenging and can result in potentially avoidable hospitalisations (PAHs). In light of these factors, we analysed PAHs comparing NH patients with non-NH patients.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study with claims data from 2015 supplied by a large German health insurance company within the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

SETTING

One-year observation of hospitalisation patterns for NH and non-NH patients.

PARTICIPANTS

3 872 245 of the 10.5million inhabitants of Baden-Wuerttemberg were covered.

METHODS

Patient data about hospitalisation date, sex, age, nationality, level of care and diagnoses were available. PAHs were defined based on international classification of diseases (ICD-10) diagnoses belonging to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Adjusted ORs for PAHs for NH patients in comparison with non-NH patients were calculated with multivariable regression models.

RESULTS

Of the 933 242 hospitalisations in 2015, there were 23 982 for 13 478 NH patients and 909 260 for 560 998 non-NH patients. Mean age of hospitalised NH patients and level of care were significantly higher than those of non-NH patients. 6449 PAHs (29.6%) for NH patients and 136 543 PAHs (15.02%) for non-NH patients were identified. The adjusted OR for PAHs was significantly heightened for NH patients in comparison with non-NH patients (OR: 1.22, CI (1.18 to 1.26), p<0.0001). Moreover, we could observe that more than 90% of PAHs with ACSCs were unplanned hospitalisations (UHs).

CONCLUSIONS

Large numbers of PAHs for NH patients calls for improved coordination of medical care, especially general practitioner service provision. Introduction of targeted training programmes for physicians and NH staff on health problem management for NH patients could perhaps contribute to reduction of PAHs, predominantly UHs.