Abstract
Objectives
There is wide variation in long-term acute care hospital (LTACH) use nationwide, the
most intensive and expensive post-acute care setting, although appropriateness of
use is uncertain. Therefore, we examined the appropriateness and reasons for transfer
in a high-use region, and how Medicare criteria for LTACH payment identifies appropriate
transfers.
Design
Multicenter retrospective observational cohort.
Setting and Participants
Consecutive hospitalized Medicare beneficiaries transferred to an LTACH from 2017
to 2018 from an accountable care organization in Texas.
Methods
The primary outcome was clinical appropriateness of transfer ascertained by 2 physician
reviewers. We abstracted patients’ characteristics and primary reasons for transfer.
We examined the positive predictive value (PPV) of meeting Medicare criteria for full
LTACH payment [preceding intensive care unit (ICU) stay ≥3 days or prolonged mechanical
ventilation] for identifying appropriate transfers, and how this differed if Medicare
adopted an 8-day minimum ICU stay criterion recommended by the Medicare Payment Advisory
Commission (MedPAC).
Results
Of 105 LTACH transfers, 33 (31.4%) were clinically appropriate. The most common reason
among appropriate transfers was respiratory care (58%), but 42% had other indications.
Inappropriate transfers most commonly were for wound care (28%), intravenous medication
infusions (28%), or patient (17%) and physician preference (26%). The PPV for meeting
Medicare LTACH payment criteria was 55%. The PPV improved to 77% if Medicare adopted
the 8-day minimum ICU stay criterion, with only a modest absolute increase in appropriate
transfers not meeting the more stringent criteria (12% to 17%).
Conclusions and Implications
Two-thirds of LTACH transfers in a high-LTACH-use region are clinically inappropriate,
and are most commonly transferred for wound care, intravenous infusions, or patient
and physician preference. Medicare payment criteria modestly distinguished between
appropriate and inappropriate transfers. Adoption of MedPAC's recommended 8-day minimum
ICU stay criterion could safely reduce inappropriate transfers, although generalizability
to low LTACH-use regions is uncertain.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 19, 2021
Footnotes
Anil N. Makam received travel expenses and a research grant from the National Association of Long-Term Hospitals (NALTH), and support from the National Institute on Aging (K23AG052603). The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
ScienceDirect
Access this article on ScienceDirectRelated Podcast
August 18, 2021
August 2021 Issue: Nursing Home Quality / Resident-to-Resident Mistreatment / POLST / LTACHs
Featuring Dr. Philip Sloane, Dr. Mallory Brown; Recorded: August 20, 2021.
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/download/k8ppmd/aug2021final.mp3
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