Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Effect of Hospital– SNF Referral Linkages on Rehospitalization

2013; Wiley; Volume: 48; Issue: 6pt1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/1475-6773.12112

1475-6773

Momotazur Rahman, Andrew Foster, David C. Grabowski, Jacqueline S. Zinn, Vincent Mor,

Healthcare Policy and Management

Objective To determine whether the rate of rehospitalization is lower among patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities ( SNF s) with which a hospital has a strong linkage. Data Sources/Collection We used national Medicare enrollment, claims, and the Minimum Data Set to examine 2.8 million newly discharged patients to 15,063 SNF s from 2,477 general hospitals between 2004 and 2006. Study Design We examined the relationship between the proportion of discharges from a hospital and alternative SNF s on the rehospitalization of patients treated by that hospital– SNF pair using an instrumental variable approach. We used distances to alternative SNF s from residence of the patients of the originating hospital as the instrument. Principal Findings Our estimates suggest that if the proportion of a hospital's discharges to an SNF was to increase by 10 percentage points, the likelihood of patients treated by that hospital– SNF pair to be rehospitalized within 30 days would decline by 1.2 percentage points, largely driven by fewer rehospitalizations within a week of hospital discharge. Conclusions Stronger hospital– SNF linkages, independent of hospital ownership, were found to reduce rehospitalization rates. As hospitals are held accountable for patients' outcomes postdischarge under the Affordable Care Act, hospitals may steer their patients preferentially to fewer SNF s.