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Differences in hospitalizations, emergency room admissions, and outpatient visits among Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Few studies have investigated the healthcare utilization of Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries. We used survey data that has been linked with Medicare claims records to describe the healthcare utilization of Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries, determine common reasons for hospitalizations, and identify characteristics associated with healthcare utilization. METHODS:Data came from wave five (2004/05) of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly. The final sample included 1187 participants aged ?75 who were followed for two-years (eight-quarters). Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the probability of ?1 hospitalization, emergency room (ER) admissions, and outpatient visits. RESULTS:The percentage of beneficiaries who had ?1 hospitalizations, ER admissions, and outpatient visits for each quarter ranged from 10.12-12.59%, 14.15-19.03%, and 76.61-80.68%, respectively. Twenty-three percent of hospital discharges were for circulatory conditions and 17% were for respiratory conditions. Hospitalizations for heart failure and simple pneumonia were most common. Older age was associated with significantly higher odds for ER admissions (OR?=?1.49, 95% CI?=?1.21-1.84) but lower odds for outpatient visits (OR?=?0.74, 95% CI?=?0.57-0.96). Spanish language and female gender were associated with significantly higher odds for hospitalizations (OR?=?1.53, 95% CI?=?1.14-2.06) and outpatient visits (OR?=?1.82, 95% CI?=?1.43-2.33), respectively. Having a middle-school or higher level of education was associated with significantly lower odds for ER admissions (OR?=?0.71, 95% CI?=?0.56-0.91). Participants who were deceased within two-years had significantly higher odds for hospitalizations (OR?=?6.15, 95% CI?=?4.79-7.89) and ER admissions (OR?=?3.63, 95% CI?=?2.88-4.57) than participants who survived at least three-years. CONCLUSION:We observed high healthcare utilization among Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries. Forty percent of all hospitalizations were for circulatory and respiratory conditions with hospitalizations for heart failure and pneumonia being the most common. Older age, gender, education, language, and mortality were all associated with healthcare utilization. Continued research is needed to identify patterns and clusters of social determinants and health characteristics associated with healthcare utilization and outcomes in older Mexican-Americans.

SUBMITTER: Downer B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6528336 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Differences in hospitalizations, emergency room admissions, and outpatient visits among Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries.

Downer Brian B Al Snih Soham S Chou Lin-Na LN Kuo Yong-Fang YF Markides Kyriakos S KS Ottenbacher Kenneth J KJ

BMC geriatrics 20190521 1

<h4>Background</h4>Few studies have investigated the healthcare utilization of Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries. We used survey data that has been linked with Medicare claims records to describe the healthcare utilization of Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries, determine common reasons for hospitalizations, and identify characteristics associated with healthcare utilization.<h4>Methods</h4>Data came from wave five (2004/05) of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic ...[more]

PMID: 31113371

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Project description:The US federal government is spending billions of dollars in physician incentives to encourage the meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs). Although the use of EHRs has potential to improve patient health outcomes, the existing evidence has been limited and inconsistent.To examine the association between implementing a commercially available outpatient EHR and emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and office visits for patients with diabetes mellitus.Staggered EHR implementation across outpatient clinics in an integrated delivery system (Kaiser Permanente Northern California) between 2005 and 2008 created an opportunity for studying changes associated with EHR use. Among a population-based sample of 169,711 patients with diabetes between 2004 and 2009, we analyzed 4,997,585 person-months before EHR implementation and 4,648,572 person-months after an EHR was being used by patients' physicians.We examined the association between EHR use and unfavorable clinical events (ED visits and hospitalizations) and office visit use among patients with diabetes, using multivariable regression with patient-level fixed-effect analyses and adjustment for trends over time.In multivariable analyses, use of the EHR was associated with a statistically significantly decreased number of ED visits, 28.80 fewer visits per 1000 patients annually (95% CI, 20.28 to 37.32), from a mean of 519.12 visits per 1000 patients annually without using the EHR to 490.32 per 1000 patients when using the EHR. The EHR was also associated with 13.10 fewer hospitalizations per 1000 patients annually (95% CI, 7.37 to 18.82), from a mean of 251.60 hospitalizations per 1000 patients annually with no EHR to 238.50 per 1000 patients annually when using the EHR. There were similar statistically significant reductions in nonelective hospitalizations (10.92 fewer per 1000 patients annually) and hospitalizations for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (7.08 fewer per 1000 patients annually). There was no statistically significant association between EHR use and office visit rates.Among patients with diabetes, use of an outpatient EHR in an integrated delivery system was associated with modest reductions in ED visits and hospitalizations but not office visit rates. Further studies are needed to quantify the association of EHR use with changes in costs.

Project description:ObjectiveLive interactive telemedicine is increasingly covered by state Medicaid programs, but whether telemedicine is improving equity in utilization of subspecialty care is not known. We examined patterns of telemedicine use for outpatient pediatric subspecialty care within the state Medicaid programs.MethodsWe identified children ≤17 years old in 2014 Medicaid Analysis eXtract data for 12 states. We identified telemedicine-using and telemedicine-nonusing medical and surgical subspecialists. Among children cared for by telemedicine-using subspecialists, we assessed child and subspecialist characteristics associated with any telemedicine visit using logistic regression with subspecialist-level random effects. Among children cared for by telemedicine-using and nonusing subspecialists, we compared visit rates across child characteristics by assessing negative binomial regression interaction terms.ResultsOf 12,237,770 pediatric Medicaid beneficiaries, 2,051,690 (16.8%) had ≥1 subspecialist visit. Of 42,695 subspecialists identified, 146 (0.3%) had ≥1 telemedicine claim. Among children receiving care from telemedicine-using subspecialists, likelihood of any telemedicine use was increased for rural children (odds ratio [OR] 10.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.3-17.1 compared to large metropolitan referent group) and those >90 miles from the subspecialist (OR 13.4, 95% CI 10.2-17.7 compared to 0-30 mile referent group). Compared to children receiving care from telemedicine-nonusing subspecialists, matched children receiving care from telemedicine-using subspecialists had larger differences in visit rates by distance to care, county rurality, ZIP code median income, and child race/ethnicity (P < .001 for interaction terms).ConclusionsChildren in rural communities and at distance to subspecialists had increased likelihood of telemedicine use. Use overall was low, and results indicated that early telemedicine policies and implementation did not close disparities in subspecialty visit rates by child geographic and sociodemographic characteristics.

Project description:ImportanceRural US residents disproportionately rely on emergency departments (ED), yet little is known about patient outcomes after ED visits to rural hospitals or critical access hospitals (CAHs).ObjectiveTo compare 30-day outcomes after rural vs urban ED visits and in CAHs, a subset of rural hospitals.Design, setting, and participantsThis propensity-matched, retrospective cohort study used a 20% sample of national Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries from January 1, 2011, to October 31, 2015. Rural and urban ED visits were matched on demographics, patient prior use of EDs, comorbidities, and diagnoses. Thirty-day outcomes overall and stratified by 25 common ED diagnoses were evaluated, with similar analysis of CAHs vs non-CAHs. Data were analyzed from February 15, 2020, to May 17, 2021.Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was 30-day all-cause mortality. Secondary outcomes were ED revisits with and without hospitalization.ResultsThe matched cohort included 473 152 rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries with a mean (SD) age of 75.1 (7.9) years (59.1% and 59.3% women, respectively; 86.9% and 87.1% White, respectively). Medicare beneficiaries at rural vs urban EDs experienced similar all-cause 30-day mortality (3.9% vs 4.1%; effect size, 0.01), ED revisits (18.1% vs 17.8%; effect size, 0.00), and ED revisits with hospitalization (6.0% vs 8.1%; effect size, 0.00). Rural ED visits were associated with more transfer (6.2% vs 2.0%; effect size, 0.22) and fewer hospitalizations (24.7% vs 39.2; effect size, 0.31). Stratified by diagnosis, patients in rural EDs with life-threatening illnesses experienced more transfer with 30-day mortality similar to that of patients in urban EDs. In contrast, mortality differed for patients in rural EDs with symptom-based diagnoses, including chest pain (odds ratio [OR], 1.54 [95% CI, 1.25-1.89]), nausea and vomiting (OR, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.26-2.24), and abdominal pain (OR, 1.73 [95% CI, 1.42-2.10]). All findings were similar for CAHs.Conclusions and relevanceThe findings of this cohort study of rural ED care suggest that patient mortality for potentially life-threatening conditions is comparable to that in urban settings. Further research is needed to understand the sources of greater rural ED mortality for symptom-based conditions. These findings underscore the importance of ensuring access to treatment of life-threatening conditions at local EDs in rural communities, which are increasingly endangered by hospital closures.

Project description:BackgroundHospitalizations involving opioid use disorder (OUD) have been increasing among Medicare beneficiaries of all ages. With rising OUD-related acute care use comes the need to understand where post-acute care is provided and the capacities for OUD treatment in those settings. Our objective was to describe hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries with OUD, their post-acute care locations, and all-cause mortality and readmissions stratified by post-acute care location.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective cohort study of acute hospitalizations using 2016-2018 Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) files linked to Medicare enrollment data and the Residential History File (RHF) for 100% of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. The RHF which provides a person-level chronological history of health service utilization and locations of care was used to identify hospital discharge locations. We used ICD-10 codes for opioid dependence or "abuse" to identify OUD diagnoses from the MedPAR file. We conducted logistic regression to identify factors associated with discharge to an institutional setting versus home adjusting for demographics, comorbidities, and hospital stay characteristics.ResultsOur analysis included 459,763 hospitalized patients with OUD. Of these, patients aged < 65 years and those dually enrolled in Medicaid comprised the majority (59.1%). OUD and opioid overdose were primary diagnoses in 14.3% and 6.2% of analyzed hospitalizations, respectively. We found that 70.3% of hospitalized patients with OUD were discharged home, 15.8% to a skilled nursing facility (SNF), 9.6% to a non-SNF institutional facility, 2.5% home with home health services, and 1.8% died in-hospital. Within 30 days of hospital discharge, rates of readmissions and mortality were 29.7% and 3.9%; respectively, with wide variation across post-acute locations. Factors associated with greater odds of discharge to institutional settings were older age, female sex, non-Hispanic White race and ethnicity, dual enrollment, longer hospital stay, more comorbidities, intensive care use, surgery, and primary diagnoses including opioid or other drug overdoses, fractures, and septicemia.ConclusionsMore than one-quarter (25.8%) of hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries with OUD received post-acute care in a setting other than home. High rates and wide variation in all-cause readmissions and mortality within 30 days post-discharge emphasize the need for improved post-acute care for people with OUD.

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Differences in hospitalizations, emergency room admissions, and outpatient visits among Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries.

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Differences in hospitalizations, emergency room admissions, and outpatient visits among Mexican-American Medicare beneficiaries.

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