INTER-HOSPITAL VARIABILITY IN TIME TO DISCHARGE TO REHABILITATION AMONG INSURED TRAUMA PATIENTS

ABSTRACT: Background Hospital costs are partly a function of length of stay (LOS), which can be impacted by the local availability of post-acute care (PAC) resources (inpatient rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities), particularly for injured patients. We hypothesized that LOS for trauma patients destined for PAC would be variable based on insurance type and hospitals from which they are discharged. Methods We used the 2014-2015 National Inpatient Sample from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). We included all adult admissions with a primary diagnosis of trauma (ICD-9CM codes), who were insured and discharged to PAC. We then ranked hospitals based upon mean LOS and divided them into quartiles to determine differences. The primary outcome was inpatient LOS; secondary outcome was cost. Results 958,005 trauma patients met inclusion criteria. Mean LOS varied based upon insurance type (Medicaid vs. Private vs. Medicare: 12.7 days vs. 8.8 and 5.7: p

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