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336156
Do hospitals with skilled nursing units have lower readmission rates?


Tuesday, November 3, 2015 : 3:30 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.

Shivani Gupta, Department of Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Robert Weech-Maldonado, MBA, PhD, Health Services Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Readmission rates have increasingly come under focus with hospitals facing penalties in the form of reduced reimbursement. Hospital-based skilled nursing facilities (HBSNFs) could allow hospitals to improve their continuum of care, thereby reducing their readmission rates. This study seeks to examine if hospitals with HBSNFs have lower readmission rates.

 The data was derived (year 2007-2011) from the American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey, the Area Resources File (ARF) and the CMS Hospital Compare. The dependent variables are 30-day risk adjusted readmission rates for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), Heart Failure (CHF) and Pneumonia. The binary independent variable represents the presence or absence of HBSNFs in the hospital. Control variables include the market and organizational characteristics which could influence hospitals’ readmission rates. A panel logistic regression with facility random efefcts and state and year fixed effects was used for the analysis. Fixed effects would address selection bias and control for unobserved, time-invariant characteristics and the time trends that could influence readmission rates. Results of this study indicate that the presence of hospital-based skilled nursing facilities is significantly associated with lower readmission rates for heart failure and pneumonia.Results fo this study could assist hospitals and policy makers to develop strategies (such as incentivizing HBSNFs) promoting better coordination of care for patients, who are not well enough to be discharged and need to be kept under supervision, by providing them with a one-stop shop for all their healthcare needs.

Learning Areas:

Administration, management, leadership

Learning Objectives:
Analyze if the presence of hospital-based skilled nursing facilities in hospitals leads to lower the readmission rates.

Keyword(s): Long-Term Care, Quality of Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a PhD candidate at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. I am conducting this study as a part of my dissertation under the guidance of Dr. Robert Weech-Maldonado. He has over 15 years of experience as a researcher and professor and is an expert in long-term care and racial/ethnic disparities. I am a new investigator and my research interests include long-term care and healthcare workforce.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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