 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Beth Han, MD, PhD, MPH and Robin Remsburg, PhD. Division of Health Care Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, Room 3409, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, (301)-458-4137, hih9@cdc.gov
Beginning 2000, all home health agencies (HHA) were required to use a 60-day episode as the basic unit of payment under the HHA Medicare home health prospective payment system (PPS). PPS aims to limit the growth in Medicare expenditures by giving providers incentives to manage home health care costs. Little is known about factors associated with length of stay (LOS) of elderly home health care patients (EHHCP). This study (1) examined LOS since 1992 in discharged EHHCP and (2) investigated factors associated with LOS (within 60 days vs. over 60 days) in discharged EHHCP. Using the data from the 1992-2000 National Home and Hospice Care Surveys (NHHCS), we examined both EHHCP factors and HHA factors associated with LOS. We used (1) ANOVAs to test the differences in LOS over time; (2) Chi-square tests to examine relationships between LOS and other investigated factors; (3) correlations statistics to examine relationships between the studied variables; and (4) logistic regression models to evaluate the impact of the investigated variables and their possible interactions on LOS. SAS and SUDAAN softwares were used. The mean and median of LOS have decreased significantly since 1992. Race, Medicare insurance, metropolitan area, region, functional disability, therapy services, and discharge status were significant factors related to LOS in EHHCP. Our findings will help health professionals better understand factors associated with LOS and develop strategies to effectively manage patients in home health care. These results will also assist policy makers to better monitor services for EHHCP.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Elderly, Home Care
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.