The researchers analyzed postacute care spending for Medicare beneficiaries who underwent hip replacement, coronary artery bypass grafting or colectomy.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Postacute care spending had significant variation; the researchers identified differences of 129 percent of total hip replacement, 103 percent for coronary artery bypass grafting and 82 percent for colectomy.
2. These variations were still present even after the researchers adjusted for the intensity of postacute care services that patients received.
3. One factor that accounted for this variation was postacute care setting, such as home health care, outpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing facility or inpatient rehabilitation facility. Adjusting for postacute care setting decreased variation to 16 percent for hip replacement, 4 percent for coronary artery bypass grafting and 21 percent for colectomy.
The researchers concluded: “Health systems seeking to improve surgical episode efficiency should collaborate with patients to choose the highest-value postacute care setting.”
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