Journal article
Potentially Avoidable Pediatric Interfacility Transfer Is a Costly Burden for Rural Families: A Cohort Study
Academic emergency medicine, Vol.23(8), pp.885-894
08/2016
DOI: 10.1111/acem.12972
PMID: 27018337
Abstract
Interhospital transfer is a common strategy to provide high-quality regionalized care in rural emergency departments (EDs), but several reports have highlighted problems with selection of children for transfer. The purpose of this study is to characterize the burden of potentially avoidable transfer (PAT) and to estimate the medical and family-oriented costs associated with PAT.
This study was a cohort study of all children treated in Iowa EDs between 2004 and 2013. PAT was defined as a child who was transferred and then either discharged from the receiving ED or admitted for ≤ 1 day, without having any separately billed procedures performed. Costs of care were estimated from 1) medical costs, 2) ambulance transfer, and 3) family costs (travel and lodging).
Over 10 years, 2,117,317 children were included (1% transferred to another hospital). Only 63% were transferred to a designated children's hospital, and PATs were identified in 39% of all transfers. PAT was associated with $909 in additional cost. The conditions most strongly associated with PAT were seizure (additional cost $1,138), fracture ($814), isolated traumatic brain injury without extra-axial bleeding ($1,455), respiratory infection ($556), and wheezing ($804). Few of these charges are attributable to nonmedical family costs ($21).
Potentially avoidable pediatric interhospital transfer is common and is responsible for significant healthcare-related costs. Future work should focus on improving selection of children who benefit from interhospital transfer for high-yield conditions, to reduce the costly and distressing burden that PAT places on rural patients and their families.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Potentially Avoidable Pediatric Interfacility Transfer Is a Costly Burden for Rural Families: A Cohort Study
- Creators
- Nicholas M Mohr - University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IowaKarisa K Harland - University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IowaDan M Shane - University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IowaSarah L Miller - University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IowaJames C Torner - University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Academic emergency medicine, Vol.23(8), pp.885-894
- DOI
- 10.1111/acem.12972
- PMID
- 27018337
- NLM abbreviation
- Acad Emerg Med
- ISSN
- 1069-6563
- eISSN
- 1553-2712
- Publisher
- United States
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa; DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa; DOI: 10.13039/100008893, name: University of Iowa; DOI: 10.13039/100002076, name: Emergency Medicine Foundation
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/2016
- Academic Unit
- Health Management and Policy; Epidemiology; Economics; Emergency Medicine; Surgery; Anesthesia; Injury Prevention Research Center; Public Policy Center (Archive); Neurosurgery; Law Faculty
- Record Identifier
- 9983996190402771
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