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Selecting a Skilled Nursing Facility for Postacute Care: Individual and Family Perspectives.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVES:To describe individuals' experiences during the hospital discharge planning and skilled nursing facility (SNF) selection process. DESIGN:Semistructured interviews focusing on discharge planning and nursing facility selection, including how facilities were chosen, who was involved, and what factors were important in decision-making. SETTING:14 SNFs in five cities across the United States. PARTICIPANTS:Newly admitted, previously community-dwelling SNF residents (N = 98) and their family members. MEASUREMENT:Semistructured interviews were qualitatively coded to identify underlying themes. RESULTS:Most respondents reported receiving only a list of SNF names and addresses from discharge planners and that hospital staff were minimally involved. Proximity to home and prior experience with the facility most often influenced choice of SNF. Most respondents reported being satisfied with their placement, although many stated that they would have been willing to travel further to another SNF were it recommended. Many reported feeling rushed and unprepared, stating that they did not know where or how to get help. CONCLUSION:SNF placement is a stressful transition, occurring when people are physically vulnerable and with limited guidance from discharge planners. Therefore, most people select a facility based on its location, perhaps because they are provided with no other information. Given Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' proposed changes to the discharge planning process, this research highlights the value of providing people and family caregivers with quality data and assistance in interpreting it.

SUBMITTER: Gadbois EA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5681373 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Selecting a Skilled Nursing Facility for Postacute Care: Individual and Family Perspectives.

Gadbois Emily A EA Tyler Denise A DA Mor Vincent V

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 20170706 11

<h4>Objectives</h4>To describe individuals' experiences during the hospital discharge planning and skilled nursing facility (SNF) selection process.<h4>Design</h4>Semistructured interviews focusing on discharge planning and nursing facility selection, including how facilities were chosen, who was involved, and what factors were important in decision-making.<h4>Setting</h4>14 SNFs in five cities across the United States.<h4>Participants</h4>Newly admitted, previously community-dwelling SNF reside ...[more]

PMID: 28682444

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Project description:BackgroundAs the veteran population ages, more veterans are receiving post-acute care in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). However, the outcomes of these transitions across Veterans Affairs (VA) and non-VA settings are unclear.ObjectiveTo measure adverse outcomes in veterans transitioning from hospital to SNF in VA and non-VA hospitals and SNFs.DesignRetrospective observational study using the 2012 to 2014 Residential History File, which concatenates VA, Medicare, and Medicaid data into longitudinal episodes of care for veterans.SettingVA and non-VA hospitals and SNFs in four categories: non-VA SNFs, VA-contracted SNFs, VA Community Living Centers (CLCs), and State Veterans Homes.ParticipantsVeterans, aged 65 years or older, who were acutely hospitalized and discharged to an SNF; one transition was randomly selected per patient.MeasurementsAdverse "transitional care" outcomes were a composite of hospital readmission, emergency department visit, or mortality within 7 days of hospital discharge.ResultsMore than four in five veteran transitions (81.7%) occurred entirely outside the VA system. The overall 7-day outcome rate was 10.7% in the 388 339 veterans included. Adverse outcomes were lowest in VA hospital-CLC transitions (7.5%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 7.1%-7.8%) and highest in non-VA hospital to VA-contracted nursing home transitions (17.5%; 95% CI = 16.0%-18.9%) in unadjusted analysis. In multivariate analyses adjusted for patient and hospital characteristics, VA hospitals had lower adverse outcome rates than non-VA hospitals (odds ratio [OR] = 0.80; 95% CI = 0.74-0.86). In comparison to VA hospital-VA CLC transitions, non-VA hospital to VA-contracted nursing homes (OR = 2.51; 95% CI = 2.09-3.02) and non-VA hospital to CLC (OR = 2.25; 95% CI = 1.81-2.79) had the highest overall adverse outcome rates.ConclusionMost veteran hospital-SNF transitions occur outside the VA, although adverse transitional care outcomes are lowest inside the VA. These findings raise important questions about the VA's role as a provider and payer of post-acute care in SNFs. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1820-1826, 2019.

Project description:BackgroundAdverse outcomes are common in transitions from hospital to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). Gaps in transitional care processes contribute to these outcomes, but it is unclear whether hospital and SNF clinicians have the same perception about who is responsible for filling these gaps in care transitions.ObjectiveWe sought to understand the perspectives of hospital and SNF clinicians on their roles and responsibilities in transitional care processes, to identify areas of congruence and gaps that could be addressed to improve transitions.DesignSemi-structured interviews with interdisciplinary hospital and SNF providers.ParticipantsForty-one clinicians across 3 hospitals and 3 SNFs including nurses (8), social workers (7), physicians (8), physical and occupational therapists (12), and other staff (6).ApproachUsing team-based approach to deductive analysis, we mapped responses to the 10 domains of the Ideal Transitions of Care Framework (ITCF) to identify areas of agreement and gaps between hospitals and SNFs.Key resultsAlthough both clinician groups had similar conceptions of an ideal transitions of care, their perspectives included significant gaps in responsibilities in 8 of the 10 domains of ITCF, including Discharge Planning; Complete Communication of Information; Availability, Timeliness, Clarity and Organization of Information; Medication Safety; Educating Patients to Promote Self-Management; Enlisting Help of Social and Community Supports; Coordinating Care Among Team Members; and Managing Symptoms After Discharge.ConclusionsAs hospitals and SNFs increasingly are held jointly responsible for the outcomes of patients transitioning between them, clarity in roles and responsibilities between hospital and SNF staff are needed. Improving transitions of care may require site-level efforts, joint hospital-SNF initiatives, and national financial, regulatory, and technological fixes. In the meantime, building effective hospital-SNF partnerships is increasingly important to delivering high-quality care to a vulnerable older adult population.

Project description:Background/objectivesApproximately half of individuals newly admitted to long-term care (LTC) nursing homes (NHs) experienced a prior hospitalization followed by discharge to a skilled nursing facility (SNF). The objective was to examine characteristics associated with new institutionalizations of older adults on this care trajectory.DesignRetrospective cohort study.SettingSNFs and LTC NHs.PatientsMedicare fee-for-service beneficiaries admitted to 7,442 SNFs in 2013 (N = 597,986).MeasurementsWe used demographic and clinical characteristics from Medicare data and the Minimum Data Set. We defined "new institutionalization" as LTC NH residence for longer than 90 non-SNF days, starting within 6 months of hospital discharge.ResultsFor individuals who survived 6 months after hospital discharge, the overall rate of new LTC institutionalizations was 10.0% (N = 59,736). Older age, white race, being unmarried, Medicaid eligibility, higher income, more comorbidities, cognitive impairment, depression, functional limitations, hallucinations and delusions, aggressive behavior, incontinence, and pressure ulcers were associated with higher adjusted odds of new LTC institutionalization. In analyses stratified according to race and ethnicity, higher income was associated with lower odds of LTC institutionalization for whites (odds ratio (OR) = 0.92, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.89-0.96) and greater odds for blacks (OR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.27-1.55) and Hispanics (OR = 1.44, 95% CI = 1.25-1.66). Moderate or severe depression, functional limitations, hallucinations and delusions, aggressive behavior, and being unmarried were stronger risk factors for LTC for cognitively intact individuals than for those with moderate to severe cognitive impairment. Being unmarried and having more comorbidities were stronger predictors in those aged 66 to 70 than in those aged 81 to 85 and 91 and older.ConclusionAssociations between risk factors and new LTC institutionalizations varied according to race and ethnicity, age, and level of cognitive function. Programs that target older adults at greater risk may be an effective strategy for reducing new institutionalizations and fostering aging in place.

Project description:BackgroundLong-term acute care hospital (LTACH) use varies considerably across the U.S., which may reflect uncertainty about the effectiveness of LTACHs vs. skilled nursing facilities (SNF), the principal post-acute care alternative. Given that LTACHs provide more intensive care and thus receive over triple the reimbursement of SNFs for comparable diagnoses, we sought to compare outcomes and spending between LTACH versus SNF transfer.MethodsUsing Medicare claims linked to electronic health record (EHR) data from six Texas Hospitals between 2009 and 2010, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized on a medicine service in a high-LTACH use region and discharged to either an LTACH or SNF and followed for one year. The primary outcomes included mortality, 60-day recovery without inpatient care, days at home, and healthcare spending RESULTS: Of 3503 patients, 18% were transferred to an LTACH. Patients transferred to LTACHs were younger (median 71 vs. 82 years), less likely to be female (50.5 vs 66.6%) and white (69.0 vs. 84.1%), but were sicker (24.3 vs. 14.2% for prolonged intensive care unit stay; median diagnosis resource intensity weight of 2.03 vs. 1.38). In unadjusted analyses, patients transferred to an LTACH vs. SNF were less likely to survive (59.1 vs. 65.0%) or recover (62.5 vs 66.0%), and spent fewer days at home (186 vs. 200). Adjusting for demographic and clinical confounders available in Medicare claims and EHR data, LTACH transfer was not significantly associated with differences in mortality (HR, 1.12, 95% CI, 0.94-1.33), recovery (SHR, 1.07, 0.93-1.23), and days spent at home (IRR, 0.96, 0.83-1.10), but was associated with greater Medicare spending ($16,689 for one year, 95% CI, $12,216-$21,162).ConclusionLTACH transfer for Medicare beneficiaries is associated with similar clinical outcomes but with higher healthcare spending compared to SNF transfer. LTACH use should be reserved for patients who require complex inpatient care and cannot be cared for in SNFs.

Dataset Information

Selecting a Skilled Nursing Facility for Postacute Care: Individual and Family Perspectives.

Publications

Selecting a Skilled Nursing Facility for Postacute Care: Individual and Family Perspectives.

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