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A group of 158 service members who sustained major limb amputations during the global war on terrorism were surveyed on their satisfaction with the quality of care received from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) Amputee Clinic from the time of their injury to their inpatient discharge. Of these participants, 96% were male, 77% were Caucasian, 89% were enlisted personnel, and 68% had sustained lower-limb amputations. WRAMC inpatient therapy, peer visitors, overall medical care, and pain management received particularly high satisfaction ratings. Age, race, rank, and level and side of amputation had little effect on overall satisfaction ratings. Significant differences, however, were found by location of injury (Iraq vs Afghanistan, Cuba, and Africa) regarding satisfaction with care received while in Europe and with the education process at WRAMC. Study findings strongly support the rehabilitation-based, integrative care approach designed by the U.S. military to care for service members with amputations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the associations between trauma variables, acute phase-related variables, and patient-level characteristics with functional recovery during the first-year post-discharge from inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Retrospective cohort analysis. Setting: Two SCI Model Centers in Pennsylvania, United States. Methods: We were able to link 378 individuals with traumatic SCI between the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Outcomes Study and the National SCI Model Systems databases. Nineteen individuals with SCI were excluded due to missing data. We estimated functional recovery based on changes in functional independence measure (FIM) total motor score during the first-year post-discharge from IRF in 359 individuals with SCI, who did not have any missing data, using ordinary least squares regression (OLS). Results: After discharge from IRF the majority of individuals with SCI improved over the first-year post-injury. Individuals with cervical A-C (injury severity group) who were older had a slight decrease in motor FIM at 1-year post-injury. Regression analysis indicated that lower functional recovery was associated with being of Black and Hispanic race and ethnicity, higher injury severity group, occurrence of non-pulmonary infection during acute care, and longer length of stay at IRF ( R 2  = 0.36). Conclusions: Patient-level characteristics, trauma variables, and acute phase-related variables were associated with functional recovery post-discharge from IRF. Further research is necessary to collect and assess post-rehabilitation and socio-economic factors that play a critical role in continued functional recovery in the community.

Background As total knee arthroplasty is one of the most common surgeries in the United States, it is important to identify regional anesthesia methods that optimize patient recovery. This study evaluates the effectiveness of adductor canal (AC) blocks with liposomal bupivacaine (LB) compared to other regional anesthesia techniques. We hypothesized that patients receiving single-shot (SS) AC blocks with LB would have lower postoperative opioid consumption compared to other groups. Methods A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted on patients from a single institution between January 2014 and December 2021. The primary outcome assessed was postoperative opioid use, with secondary outcomes including postoperative pain scores and hospital length of stay. Results The final analysis included 280 patients: 41 received an SS AC block with plain local anesthetic, 76 received a peripheral nerve catheter (PNC) with continuous ropivacaine, 79 received an SS AC block with LB, and 84 received no block. In fully adjusted models, postoperative opioid consumption on day one was significantly lower in the SS AC block with LB group compared to the no block group (b = 23.2, SE = 5.7, p < 0.0001), the PNC group (b = 15.5, SE = 5.7, p = 0.01), and the SS AC block with plain local anesthetic group (b = 18.9, SE = 6.9, p = 0.01). Additionally, hospital length of stay was significantly reduced in the LB group compared to the no block group (b = 1.5, SE = 0.3, p < 0.0001), the PNC group (b = 1.1, SE = 0.3, p < 0.0001), and the SS AC block with plain local anesthetic group (b = 1.5, SE = 0.3, p < 0.0001). Conclusions Patients who received an AC block with LB had higher pain scores on postoperative day 0 (POD0) but required less opioid medication on postoperative day 1 (POD1) and had a shorter hospital stay compared to patients who received other types of AC blocks or no block., Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System issued approval 1572797-11. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work., (Copyright © 2024, Harvey et al.)

Objective: To determine the associations between trauma variables, acute phase-related variables, and patient-level characteristics with functional recovery during inpatient rehabilitation for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The associations were evaluated by linking individuals' records between the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Outcomes Study and the National SCI Model Systems databases., Design: Retrospective cohort analysis., Setting: Two SCI Model Centers in Pennsylvania, United States., Methods: We used a record linkage toolkit in Python to link 735 individuals with traumatic SCI between the databases. The percentage for true-match and error were 92.0% and 0.1%, respectively. The functional recovery during inpatient rehabilitation was determined in 604 individuals with SCI by ordinary least squares regression (OLS) and gradient boosting regression (GBR) analyses., Results: The OLS and GBR analyses indicated older age, greater impairment (SCI level combined with American Spinal Injury Association impairment scale), presence of diabetes mellitus, pulmonary complications during acute care, and longer length of stay at an inpatient rehabilitation facility were associated with lower functional recovery (OLS R 2  = 0.56 and GBR R 2  = 0.58)., Conclusions: Trauma and acute care variables in addition to patient characteristics were associated with functional recovery during inpatient rehabilitation in individuals with SCI. Further investigation is needed to understand the role of diabetes mellitus and pulmonary complications, which have not been previously associated with functional recovery in individuals with SCI.

Objectives: This study examined the association between hospital participation in Bundled Payments for Care Improvement (BPCI) or Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement (CJR) and the timely initiation of home health rehabilitation services for lower extremity joint replacements. Furthermore, this study examined the association between the timely initiation of home health rehabilitation services with improvement in self-care, mobility, and 90-day hospital readmission., Method: This retrospective cohort study used Medicare inpatient claims and home health assessment data from 2016 to 2017 for older adults discharged to home with home health following hospitalization after joint replacement. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association between hospital participation in BPCI or CJR programs and timely initiation of home health rehabilitation service. A 2-staged generalized boosted model was used to examine the association between delay in home health initiation and improvement in self-care, mobility, and 90-day risk-adjusted hospital readmission., Results: Compared with patients discharged from hospitals that did not have BPCI or CJR, patients discharged from hospitals with these programs had a lower likelihood of delayed initiation of home health rehabilitation services for both knees and hip replacement. Using propensity scores as the inverse probability of treatment weights, delay in the initiation of home health rehabilitation services was associated with lower improvement in self-care (odds ratio [OR] = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.20-1.26), mobility (OR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.13-1.18), and higher rate of 90-day hospital readmission (OR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.15-1.24) for knee replacement. Likewise, delayed initiation of home health rehabilitation services was associated with lower improvement in self-care (OR = 1.16; 95% CI = 1.13-1.20) and mobility (OR = 1.26; 95% CI = 1.22-1.30) for hip replacement., Conclusion: Hospital participation in BPCI or comprehensive CJR was associated with early home health rehabilitation care initiation, which was further associated with significant increases in functional recovery and lower risks of hospital readmission., Impact: Policy makers may consider incentivizing health care providers to initiate early home health services and care coordination in value-based payment models., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: Because chronic difficulties with cognition and well-being are common after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and aerobic physical activity and exercise (PAE) is a potential treatment and mitigation strategy, we sought to determine their relationship in a large sample with remote mTBI., Materials and Methods: The Long-Term Impact of Military-Relevant Brain Injury Consortium-Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium prospective longitudinal study is a national multicenter observational study of combat-exposed service members and veterans. Study participants with positive mTBI histories (n = 1,087) were classified as "inactive" (23%), "insufficiently active" (46%), "active" (19%), or "highly active" (13%) based on the aerobic PAE level. The design was a cross-sectional analysis with multivariable regression. PAE was reported on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Preselected primary outcomes were seven well-validated cognitive performance tests of executive function, learning, and memory: The California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition Long-Delay Free Recall and Total Recall, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised Total Recall, Trail-Making Test-Part B, and NIH Toolbox for the Assessment of Neurological Behavior and Function Cognition Battery Picture Sequence Memory, Flanker, and Dimensional Change Card Sort tests. Preselected secondary outcomes were standardized self-report questionnaires of cognitive functioning, life satisfaction, and well-being., Results: Across the aerobic activity groups, cognitive performance tests were not significantly different. Life satisfaction and overall health status scores were higher for those engaging in regular aerobic activity. Exploratory analyses also showed better working memory and verbal fluency with higher aerobic activity levels., Conclusions: An association between the aerobic activity level and the preselected primary cognitive performance outcome was not demonstrated using this study sample and methods. However, higher aerobic activity levels were associated with better subjective well-being. This supports a clinical recommendation for regular aerobic exercise among persons with chronic or remote mTBI. Future longitudinal analyses of the exercise-cognition relationship in chronic mTBI populations are recommended., (© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2023. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Timely access and continuum of care in older adults with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) is critical. This is a retrospective study on Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with ADRD diagnosis discharged to home with home health care following an episode of acute hospitalization. Our sample included 262,525 patients. White patients in rural areas have significantly higher odds of delay (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.06). Black patients in urban areas (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.12-1.19) and Hispanic patients in urban areas also were more likely to have a delay (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.11). Black and Hispanic patients residing in urban areas had a higher likelihood of delay in home healthcare initiation following hospitalization compared to Whites residing in urban areas.

Introduction: We examined differences in the timeliness of the initiation of home health care by race and the quality of home health agencies (HHA) among patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD)., Methods: Medicare claims and home health assessment data were used for the study cohort: individuals aged ≥65 years with ADRD, and discharged from the hospital. Home health latency was defined as patients receiving home health care after 2 days following hospital discharge., Results: Of 251,887 patients with ADRD, 57% received home health within 2 days following hospital discharge. Black patients were significantly more likely to experience home health latency (odds ratio [OR] = 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.11-1.19) compared to White patients. Home health latency was significantly higher for Black patients in low-rating HHA (OR = 1.29, 95% CI = 1.22-1.37) compared to White patients in high-rating HHA., Discussion: Black patients are more likely to experience a delay in home health care initiation than White patients., (© 2023 the Alzheimer's Association.)

Background: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) penalizes hospitals for higher than expected 30-day mortality rates using methods without accounting for condition severity risk adjustment. For patients with stroke, CMS claims did not quantify stroke severity until recently, when the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) reporting began., Objective: Examine the predictive ability of claim-based NIHSS to predict 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital readmission in patients with ischemic stroke., Design: Retrospective cohort study of Medicare claims data., Patients: Medicare beneficiaries with ischemic stroke (N=43,241) acute hospitalization between October 2016 and November 2017., Measurements: All-cause 30-day mortality and 30-day hospital readmission. NIHSS score was derived from ICD-10 codes and stratified into the following: minor to moderate, moderate, moderate to severe, and severe categories., Results: Among 43,241 patients with ischemic stroke with NIHSS from 2,659 US hospitals, 64.6% had minor to moderate stroke, 14.3% had moderate, 12.7% had moderate to severe, and 8.5% had a severe stroke,10.1% died within 30 days, 12.1% were readmitted within 30 days. The NIHSS exhibited stronger discriminant property (C-statistic 0.83, 95% CI: 0.82-0.84) for 30-day mortality compared to Elixhauser (0.74, 95% CI: 0.73-0.75). A monotonic increase in the adjusted 30-day mortality risk occurred relative to minor to moderate stroke category: hazard ratio [HR]=2.92 (95% CI=2.59-3.29) for moderate stroke, HR=5.49 (95% CI=4.90-6.15) for moderate to severe stroke, and HR=7.82 (95% CI=6.95-8.80) for severe stroke. After accounting for competing risk of mortality, there was a significantly higher readmission risk in the moderate stroke (HR=1.11, 95% CI=1.03-1.20), but significantly lower readmission risk in the severe stroke (HR=0.84, 95% CI=0.74-0.95) categories., Limitation: Timing of NIHSS reporting during hospitalization is unknown., Conclusions: Medicare claim-based NIHSS is significantly associated with 30-day mortality in Medicare patients with ischemic stroke and significantly improves discriminant property relative to the Elixhauser comorbidity index., (© 2021. Society of General Internal Medicine.)

Background: Breast cancer survivors have a unique risk for negative health outcomes. Engaging in routine physical activity (PA) can reduce these risks. However, PA levels are low among this population. Narrative visualization (NV) is a technique that uses drawings, photographs, and text to contextualize data, which may increase integrated regulation, or motivation related to personal values and identity. A PA intervention targeting breast cancer survivors using an NV strategy may improve PA behavior. The purpose of this study was to determine whether scrapbooking activities could successfully be used as an NV strategy for older (55+) breast cancer survivors., Methods: Breast cancer survivors were given workbooks, wearable electronic activity monitors, instant cameras, and art supplies including a variety of stickers (e.g., emojis, affirmations). Participants were instructed to use these materials for 7 days. The workbook pages prompted participants to re-draw their daily activity graphs from the wearable's mobile app, then annotate them with text, photographs, stickers, etc. to reflect what the data meant to them. Hybrid thematic analysis was used to analyze the photographs, drawings, and written content to identify emergent themes. Content analysis was also used to investigate use of stickers and photographs., Results: Of the 20 consented women (mean age 67 ± 5 years, 45% non-Hispanic white), 3 participants were lost to follow-up or unable to complete the procedures. The NV procedures were successfully utilized by the remaining 17 participants, who collectively used 945 stickers over 7 days, most of which were emojis. Emojis were both positively and negatively valanced. Participants took a mean of 9 photos over 7 days and completed workbook questions regarding current PA and PA goals. Themes within the photos included family, specific locations, everyday objects, religion, and friends. Themes within the written portions of the workbook included family, chores and obligations, health, personal reflection, hobbies, and shopping., Conclusions: The materials provided allowed breast cancer survivors to successfully use NV techniques to reflect on their PA data and behavior. These techniques show promise for promoting integrated regulation in activity monitoring interventions., Trial Registration: This study was funded by the National Cancer Institute ( R21CA218543 ) beginning July 1, 2018., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Advances in data science and timely access to health informatics provide a pathway to integrate patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) into clinical workflows and optimize rehabilitation service delivery. With the shift toward value-based care in the United States health care system, as highlighted by the recent Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services incentive and penalty programs, it is critical for rehabilitation providers to systematically collect and effectively use PROMs to facilitate evaluation of quality and outcomes within and across health systems. This editorial discusses the potential of PROMs to transform clinical practice, provides examples of health systems using PROMs to guide care, and identifies barriers to aggregating data from PROMs to conduct health services research. The article proposes 2 priority areas to help advance rehabilitation health services research: (1) standardization of collecting PROMs data in electronic health records to facilitate comparing health system performance and quality and (2) increased partnerships between rehabilitation providers, researchers, and payors to accelerate health system learning. As health care reform continues to emphasize value-based payment strategies, it is essential for the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation to be at the forefront of demonstrating its value in the care continuum., (Copyright © 2021 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: There is evidence Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is associated with increased risk of dementia (D). We compared VA and non-VA facility costs associated with TBI+D and each diagnosis alone, relative to neither diagnosis, annually and over time, 2000-2020., Methods: We estimated adjusted panel models of annual VHA costs in VA and non-VA facilities, stratified by age, and by TBI-dementia status. We also estimated cost for the TBI+D cohort by time since TBI and dementia diagnoses. All costs were 2021 inflation adjusted., Results: Veterans <65 ($30,736) and ≥65 ($15,650) with TBI+D, while veterans <65 ($3,379) and ≥65 ($4,252) with TBI-only had higher annual total VHA costs, relative to neither diagnosis. Veterans with TBI+D < 65 ($42,864) and ≥65 ($72,424) had higher costs in years≥15 after TBI diagnosis, while <65 ($36,431) and ≥65 ($37,589) had higher costs in years ≥10 after dementia diagnosis., Conclusions: The main cost driver was inpatient non-VA facility costs. Veterans had continuously increasing inpatient care costs in non-VA facilities over time since their TBI and dementia diagnoses. Given budget constraints on the VA system, quality of care in non-VA facilities warrants comparison with VA facilities to make informed decisions regarding referrals to non-VA facilities.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of hospital-based rehabilitation services on community discharge rates after hip and knee replacement surgery according to hospital participation in value-based care models: bundled payments for care improvement (BPCI) and comprehensive care for joint replacement (CJR). The secondary objective was to determine whether community discharge rates after hip and knee replacement surgery differed by participation in these models., Methods: A secondary analysis of Medicare fee-for-service claims was conducted for beneficiaries 65 years of age or older who underwent hip and knee replacement surgery from 2016 to 2017. Independent variables were hospital participation in value-based programs categorized as: (1) BPCI, (2) CJR, and (3) non-BPCI/CJR; and total minutes per day of hospital-based rehabilitation services categorized into tertiles. The primary outcome variable was discharged to the community versus discharged to institutional post-acute care settings. The association between rehabilitation amount and community discharge among BPCI, CJR, and non-BPCI/CJR hospitals was adjusted for patient-level clinical and hospital characteristics., Results: Participation in BPCI or CJR was not associated with community discharge. This analysis found a dose-response relationship between the amount of rehabilitation services and odds of community discharge. Among those who received a hip replacement, this relationship was most pronounced in the BPCI group; compared with the low rehabilitation category, the medium category had odds ratio (OR) = 1.28 (95% CI = 1.17 to 1.41), and the high category had OR = 1.90 (95% CI = 1.71 to 2.11). For those who received a knee replacement, there was a dose-response relationship in the CJR group only; compared with the low rehabilitation category, the medium category had OR = 1.21 (95% CI = 1.15 to 1.28), and the high category had OR = 1.56 (95% CI = 1.46 to 1.66)., Conclusion: Regardless of hospital participation in BPCI or CJR models, higher amounts of rehabilitation services delivered during acute hospitalization is associated with a higher likelihood of discharge to community following hip and knee replacement surgery., Impact: In the era of value-based care, frontloading of rehabilitation care is vital for improving patient-centered health outcomes in acute phases of lower extremity joint replacement., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Physical Therapy Association. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Importance: Black and Hispanic US residents are disproportionately affected by stroke incidence, and patients with dual eligibility for Medicare and Medicaid may be predisposed to more severe strokes. Little is known about differences in stroke severity for individuals with dual eligibility, Black individuals, and Hispanic individuals, but understanding hospital admission stroke severity is the first important step for focusing strategies to reduce disparities in stroke care and outcomes., Objective: To examine whether dual eligibility and race and ethnicity are associated with stroke severity in Medicare beneficiaries admitted to acute hospitals with ischemic stroke., Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using Medicare claims data for patients with ischemic stroke admitted to acute hospitals in the United States from October 1, 2016, to November 30, 2017. Data were analyzed from July 2021 and January 2022., Exposures: Dual enrollment for Medicare and Medicaid; race and ethnicity categorized as White, Black, Hispanic, and other., Main Outcomes and Measures: Claim-based National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) categorized into minor (0-7), moderate (8-13), moderate to severe (14-21), and severe (22-42) stroke., Results: Our sample included 45 459 Medicare fee-for-service patients aged 66 and older (mean [SD] age, 80.2 [8.4]; 25 303 [55.7%] female; 7738 [17.0%] dual eligible; 4107 [9.0%] Black; 1719 [3.8%] Hispanic; 37 715 [83.0%] White). In the fully adjusted models, compared with White patients, Black patients (odds ratio [OR], 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06-1.39) and Hispanic patients (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.29-1.85) were more likely to have a severe stroke. Using White patients without dual eligibility as a reference group, White patients with dual eligibility were more likely to have a severe stroke (OR, 1.75; 95% CI, 1.56-1.95). Similarly, Black patients with dual eligibility (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.78-2.60) and Hispanic patients with dual eligibility (OR, 2.50; 95% CI, 1.98-3.16) were more likely to have a severe stroke., Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, Medicare fee-for-service patients with ischemic stroke admitted to acute hospitals who were Black or Hispanic had a higher likelihood of worse stroke severity. Additionally, dual eligibility status had a compounding association with stroke severity regardless of race and ethnicity. An urgent effort is needed to decrease disparities in access to preventive and poststroke care for dual eligible and minority patients.

Background: Research has evaluated the effect of surgical timing on patient functional recovery in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, there is a critical need to assess how demographics, clinical characteristics, and process of care affect functional outcomes., Objective: We examined the association between demographic, clinical, and process of care factors with post-acute functional status (locomotion and transfer mobility scores) and discharge disposition (home vs. institution) in individuals with SCI., Methods: This study was a retrospective cohort analysis of the Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Outcomes Study (PTOS) database for individuals with traumatic SCI ( N  = 2223). We conducted multinomial and binomial logistic regression analyses to examine post-acute functional status and discharge disposition, respectively., Results: The results indicated that older age, longer length of stay, lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), higher Injury Severity Score (ISS), and individuals with tetraplegia had significantly lower motor functional score at discharge from an acute hospital. In addition, older age, individuals with public-sponsored insurance, longer length of stay, lower GCS, and higher ISS had significantly higher odds of being discharged to an institution, as compared to home. Individuals of Hispanic ethnicity, as compared to White, had lower odds of being discharged to an institution., Conclusions: The regression models developed in this study were able to better classify discharge destinations compared to the functional outcomes at discharge from the acute hospital. Further research is necessary to determine how these factors and their associations vary nationally across the US, which have the potential to inform trauma and acute care post-SCI.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and has been devastating for residents of nursing homes (NHs). However, evidence on racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19-related mortality rates within NHs and how that has changed over time has been limited. This study examines the impact of a high proportion of minority residents in NHs on COVID-19-related mortality rates over a 30-week period., Design: Longitudinal study., Setting and Participants: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Nursing Home COVID-19 Public Use File data from 50 states from June 1, 2020, to December 27, 2020., Methods: We linked data from 11,718 NHs to (1) Nursing Home Compare data, (2) the Long-Term Care: Facts on Care in the U.S., and (3) US county-level data on COVID cases and deaths. Our primary independent variable was proportion of minority residents (blacks and Hispanics) in NHs and its association with mortality rate over time., Results: During the first 6 weeks from June 1, 2020, NHs with a higher proportion of black residents reported more COVID-19 deaths per 1000 followed by NHs with a higher proportion of Hispanic residents. Between 7 and 12 weeks, NHs with a higher proportion of Hispanic residents reported more deaths per 1000, followed by NHs with a higher proportion of black residents. However, after 23 weeks (mid-November 2020), NHs serving a higher proportion of white residents reported more deaths per 1000 than NHs serving a high proportion of black and Hispanic residents., Conclusions and Implications: The disparities in COVID-19-related mortality for nursing homes serving minority residents is evident for the first 12 weeks of our study period. Policy interventions and the equitable distribution of vaccine are required to mitigate the impact of systemic racial injustice on health outcomes of people of color residing in NHs., (Copyright © 2021 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To determine the factors associated with acute hospital discharge to the 3 most common postacute settings following total knee arthroplasty (TKA): inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), and directly back to the community., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Setting: Acute care hospitals submitting claims to Medicare., Participants: National cohort (N=1,189,286) of 100% Medicare Part A data files from 2009-2011., Interventions: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: Observed rates and adjusted odds of discharge to the 3 main postacute settings based on the clinical and facility level variables: amount of comorbidity, bilateral procedures, and facility TKA volume., Results: Using IRF discharge as the reference, patients who received a bilateral procedure had lower odds of both SNF and community discharge, patients with more comorbidity had lower odds for community discharge and higher odds for SNF discharge, and patients who received their TKA from hospitals with lower TKA volumes had lower odds of SNF and community discharge., Conclusions: Clinical populations within Medicare beneficiaries may systematically vary across the 3 most common discharge settings following TKA. This information may be helpful for a better understanding on which patient or clinical factors influence postacute care settings following TKA. Additional research including functional status, living situation, and social support systems would be beneficial., (Copyright © 2020 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: We assessed the characteristics of older Mexican American enrollees in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) and Medicare Advantage (MA) plans and the factors associated with disenrollment from FFS and enrollment in MA plans., Design: Longitudinal study linked with Medicare claims data., Setting: The Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly., Participants: Community-dwelling Mexican American older adults (N = 1455)., Measurements: We examined insurance status using the Medicare Beneficiary Summary File and estimated the association of sociodemographic and clinical factors with insurance plan switching., Results: Among Mexican American older adults, FFS enrollees were more likely to be born in Mexico, speak Spanish, have lower levels of education, and have more disability than MA enrollees. Older adults with a larger number of limitations of instrumental activities of daily living (odds ratio [OR] = .50; 95% confidence interval [CI] = .26-.98) and more social support (OR = .70; 95% CI = .45-.98) were less likely to switch from FFS to MA compared with older adults with no limitations and less social support. Additionally, older adults living in counties with a greater number of MA plans were more likely to switch from FFS to MA (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.45-3.16), compared with counties with a lower number of MA plans. In counties with a higher number of MA plans, older adults with more social support had lower odds of switching from FFS to MA (OR = .48; 95% CI = .28-.82) compared with older adults with less social support., Conclusion: Compared with those enrolled in MA, older Mexican American adults enrolled in Medicare FFS are more socioeconomically disadvantaged and more likely to demonstrate poor health status. Stronger social support and increased physical limitations were strongly associated with less frequent switching from FFS to MA plans. Additionally, increased availability of MA plans at the county level is a significant driver of enrollment in MA plans. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:313-320, 2020., (© 2019 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Introduction: Older Mexican Americans are living longer with multiple chronic conditions (MCCs). This has placed greater demands on caregivers to assist with basic activities of daily living (ADL) or instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). To understand the needs of older Mexican-American care recipients, we examined the impact of MCC on ADL and IADL limitations., Methods: We analyzed data from 485 Mexican American care-receiving/caregiving dyads. Selected MCCs in the analysis were diabetes, hypertension, stroke, heart disease, arthritis, emphysema/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cognitive impairment, depression, and cancer. Care recipients were dichotomized as having 3 or more conditions or as having 2 or fewer conditions. Three comorbidity clusters were established on the basis of the most prevalent health conditions among participants with comorbid arthritis and hypertension. These clusters included arthritis and hypertension plus: diabetes (cluster 1), cognitive impairment (cluster 2), and heart disease (cluster 3)., Results: Care recipients with 3 or more chronic conditions (n = 314) had higher odds of having mobility limitations (OR = 1.98; 95% CI, 1.34-2.94), self-care limitations (OR = 2.53; 95% CI, 1.70-3.81), >3 ADL limitations (OR = 2.00; 95% CI, 1.28-3.17), and >3 IADL limitations (OR = 1.88; 95% CI, 1.26-2.81). All clusters had increased odds of ADL and severe ADL limitations. Of care recipients in cluster 2, those with arthritis, hypertension, and cognitive impairment had significantly higher odds of mobility limitations (OR = 2.33; 95% CI, 1.05-5.24) than those with just arthritis and hypertension., Conclusion: MCCs were associated with more ADL and IADL limitations among care recipients, especially for those with hypertension and arthritis plus diabetes, cognitive impairment, or heart disease. These findings can assist in developing programs to meet the needs of older Mexican-American care recipients.

Objective: To examine changes in facility-level risk-standardized rehospitalization rankings for postacute inpatient rehabilitation facilities after modifying two model parameters., Data Sources: We used national Medicare enrollment, claims, and assessment data to study 522,260 patients discharged from inpatient rehabilitation in fiscal years 2010-2011., Study Design: We calculated risk-standardized 30-day unplanned rehospitalization rates for 1,135 inpatient rehabilitation facilities using four approaches. The first model replicated the current postacute risk-standardization methodology and included patients discharged from acute hospitals up to 30 days prior to postacute admission and excluded patients transferred directly back to acute hospitals following rehabilitation. Our alternative models excluded patients with delayed admissions (>1 day between acute discharge and postacute admission) and counted direct transfers back to acute as rehospitalizations., Principal Findings: Excluding patients with delayed admissions and counting direct transfers back to acute care as rehospitalizations substantially impacted rankings of more than half the postacute providers: 29 percent had better and 27 percent had worse quintile rankings., Conclusions: Changing the timeframes for duration to admission and rehospitalization will have profound effects on postacute provider quality performance ratings. Reporting rehospitalization rates is an important issue with the explicit goal of improving the quality of postacute care. Research is needed to understand and minimize potential unintended consequences of this quality metric., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)

Objectives: To model 12-month rehospitalization risk among Medicare beneficiaries receiving inpatient rehabilitation for spinal cord injury (SCI) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to create 2 (SCI- and TBI-specific) interactive tools enabling users to generate monthly projected probabilities of rehospitalization on the basis of an individual patient's clinical profile at discharge from inpatient rehabilitation., Design: Secondary data analysis., Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation facilities., Participants: Medicare beneficiaries receiving inpatient rehabilitation for SCI (n=2587) or TBI (n=10,864)., Interventions: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: Monthly rehospitalization (yes/no) based on Medicare claims., Results: Results are summarized through computer-generated interactive tools, which plot individual level trajectories of rehospitalization probabilities over time. Factors associated with the probability of rehospitalization over time are also provided, with different combinations of these factors generating different individual level trajectories. Four case studies are presented to demonstrate the variability in individual risk trajectories. Monthly rehospitalization probabilities for the individual high-risk TBI and SCI cases declined from 33% to 15% and from 41% to 18%, respectively, over time, whereas the probabilities for the individual low-risk cases were much lower and stable over time: 5% to 2% and 6% to 2%, respectively., Conclusions: Rehospitalization is an undesirable and multifaceted health outcome. Classifying patients into meaningful risk strata at different stages of their recovery is a positive step forward in anticipating and managing their unique health care needs over time., (Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Examine the effects of postacute discharge setting on unplanned hospital readmissions following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in older adults., Design: Secondary analyses of 100% Medicare (inpatient) claims files., Setting: Acute hospitals across the United States., Participants: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries ≥66 years of age who were discharged from an acute hospital following TKA in 2009-2011 (n = 608,031)., Measurements: The outcome measure was unplanned readmissions at 30, 60, and 90 days. The independent variable of interest was postacute discharge setting: inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF), skilled nursing facility (SNF), or community. Covariates included demographic, clinical, and facility-level factors. The top 10 reasons for readmission were tabulated for each discharge setting across the 3 consecutive 30-day time periods., Results: A total of 32,226 patients (5.3%) were re-admitted within 30 days. Compared with community discharge, patients discharged to IRF and SNF had 44% and 40% higher odds of 30-day readmission, respectively. IRF and SNF discharge settings were also associated with 48% and 45% higher odds of 90-day readmission, respectively, compared with community discharge. The largest increase in readmission rates occurred within the first 30 days of hospital discharge for each discharge setting. From 1 to 30 days, postoperative and post-traumatic infections were among the top causes for readmission in all 3 discharge settings. From 31 to 60 days, postoperative or traumatic infections remained in the top 5-7 reasons for readmission in all settings, but they were not in the top 10 at 61 to 90 days., Conclusions: Patients discharged to either SNF or IRF, in comparison with those discharged to the community, had greater likelihood of readmission within 30 and 90 days. The reasons for readmission were relatively consistent across discharge settings and time periods. These findings provide new information relevant to the delivery of postacute care to older adults following TKA., (Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Information regarding the association of comorbidity indices with readmission risk for older adults receiving postacute care is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the discriminatory ability of five comorbidity indices in predicting 30-day all-cause hospital readmission following discharge to the community from postacute inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF)., Methods: The sample included Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with stroke, lower extremity joint replacement, and fracture, discharged from IRF in 2011 (N = 75,582). Logistic regression models were used to predict 30-day all-cause readmission. Impairment-specific base models included demographic characteristics and length of stay. Subsequent models included individual comorbidity indices: Tier, Charlson, Elixhauser, functional comorbidity index (FCI), and the hierarchical condition category (HCC). We then added discharge functional status to each model. Results were compared using C-statistics., Results: Thirty-day readmission rates following discharge from an IRF ranged from 6.5% (joint replacement) to 14% (stroke). The C-statistics were 0.53, 0.56, and 0.55 for the base models in the stroke, joint replacement, and fracture groups, respectively. Adding the Tier, Charlson, FCI, or Elixhauser variables increased the C-statistics by 0.03-0.07 across the three impairment categories. Adding the HCC increased the C-statistics by 0.06-0.09. With the addition of discharge functional status in the model, the C-statistics further increased by 0.06-0.09., Conclusions: Comorbidity indices were weakly associated with 30-day readmission in older adults discharged from postacute inpatient rehabilitation. Adding patient-level functional status to the comorbidity indices further improved the discriminatory ability to predict readmission in our sample., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: Compare 5 comorbidity indices to predict community discharge and functional status following post-acute rehabilitation., Design: This was a retrospective study of Medicare beneficiaries with stroke, lower-extremity fracture, and joint replacement discharged from inpatient rehabilitation in 2011 (N = 105,275). Community discharge and self-care, mobility, and cognitive function were compared using the Charlson, Elixhauser, Tier, Functional Comorbidity, and Hierarchical Condition Category comorbidity indices., Results: Of the patients, 64.4% were female, and 84.6% were non-Hispanic white. Mean age was 79.3 (SD, 7.5) years. Base regression models including sociodemographic and clinical variables explained 56.6%, 42.2%, and 23.0% of the variance (R) for discharge self-care; 47.4%, 30.9%, and 18.6% for mobility; and 62.0%, 55.3%, and 37.3% for cognition across the 3 impairment groups. R values for self-care, mobility, and cognition increased by 0.2% to 3.3% when the comorbidity indices were added to the models. The base model C statistics for community discharge were 0.58 (stroke), 0.61 (fracture), and 0.62 (joint replacement). The C statistics increased more than 25% with the addition of discharge functional status to the base model. Adding the comorbidity indices individually to the base model resulted in C-statistic increases of 1% to 2%., Conclusion: Comorbidity indices were poor predictors of community discharge and functional status in Medicare beneficiaries receiving inpatient rehabilitation., Competing Interests: No authors have conflicts of interest or financial disclosures to report.

Objectives: To describe impairment-specific patterns in shorter- and longer-than-expected lengths of stay in inpatient rehabilitation, and examine the independent effects of social support on deviations from expected lengths of stay., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation facilities., Participants: Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (N=119,437) who were discharged from inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 2012 after stroke, lower extremity fracture, or lower extremity joint replacement., Intervention: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measure: Relative length of stay (actual minus expected). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services posts annual expected lengths of stay based on patients' clinical profiles at admission. We created a 3-category outcome variable: short, expected, long. Our primary independent variable (social support) also included 3 categories: family/friends, paid/other, none., Results: Mean ± SD actual lengths of stay for joint replacement, fracture, and stroke were 9.8±3.6, 13.8±4.5, and 15.8±7.3 days, respectively; relative lengths of stay were -1.2±3.1, -1.6±3.7, and -1.7±5.2 days. Nearly half of patients (47%-48%) were discharged more than 1 day earlier than expected in all 3 groups, whereas 14% of joint replacement, 15% of fracture, and 20% of stroke patients were discharged more than 1 day later than expected. In multinomial regression analysis, using family/friends as the reference group, paid/other support was associated (P<.05) with higher odds of long stays in joint replacement. No social support was associated with lower odds of short stays in all 3 impairment groups and higher odds of long stays in fracture and joint replacement., Conclusions: Inpatient rehabilitation experiences and outcomes can be substantially affected by a patient's level of social support. More research is needed to better understand these relationships and possible unintended consequences in terms of patient access issues and provider-level quality measures., (Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Medicare data from acute hospitals do not contain information on functional status. This lack of information limits the ability to conduct rehabilitation-related health services research., Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between 5 comorbidity indexes derived from acute care claims data and functional status assessed at admission to an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF). Comorbidity indexes included tier comorbidity, Functional Comorbidity Index (FCI), Charlson Comorbidity Index, Elixhauser Comorbidity Index, and Hierarchical Condition Category (HCC)., Design: This was a retrospective cohort study., Methods: Medicare beneficiaries with stroke, lower extremity joint replacement, and lower extremity fracture discharged to an IRF in 2011 were studied (N=105,441). Data from the beneficiary summary file, Medicare Provider Analysis and Review (MedPAR) file, and Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility-Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) file were linked. Inpatient rehabilitation facility admission functional status was used as a proxy for acute hospital discharge functional status. Separate linear regression models for each impairment group were developed to assess the relationships between the comorbidity indexes and functional status. Base models included age, sex, race/ethnicity, disability, dual eligibility, and length of stay. Subsequent models included individual comorbidity indexes. Values of variance explained (R(2)) with each comorbidity index were compared., Results: Base models explained 7.7% of the variance in motor function ratings for stroke, 3.8% for joint replacement, and 7.3% for fracture. The R(2) increased marginally when comorbidity indexes were added to base models for stroke, joint replacement, and fracture: Charlson Comorbidity Index (0.4%, 0.5%, 0.3%), tier comorbidity (0.2%, 0.6%, 0.5%), FCI (0.4%, 1.2%, 1.6%), Elixhauser Comorbidity Index (1.2%, 1.9%, 3.5%), and HCC (2.2%, 2.1%, 2.8%)., Limitation: Patients from 3 impairment categories were included in the sample., Conclusions: The 5 comorbidity indexes contributed little to predicting functional status. The indexes examined were not useful as proxies for functional status in the acute settings studied., (© 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.)

Background: Debility accounts for 10% of inpatient rehabilitation cases among Medicare beneficiaries. Debility has the highest 30-day readmission rate among 6 impairment groups most commonly admitted to inpatient rehabilitation., Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine rates, temporal distribution, and factors associated with hospital readmission for patients with debility up to 90 days following discharge from inpatient rehabilitation., Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using records for 45,424 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with debility discharged to community from 1,199 facilities during 2006-2009., Methods: Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios for readmission. Schoenfeld residuals were examined to identify covariate-time interactions. Factor-time interactions were included in the full model for Functional Independence Measure (FIM) discharge motor functional status, comorbidity tier, and chronic pulmonary disease. Most prevalent reasons for readmission were summarized by Medicare severity diagnosis related groups., Results: Hospital readmission rates for patients with debility were 19% for 30 days and 34% for 90 days. The highest readmission count occurred on day 3 after discharge, and 56% of readmissions occurred within 30 days. A higher FIM discharge motor rating was associated with lower hazard for readmissions prior to 60 days (30-day hazard ratio=0.987; 95% confidence interval=0.986, 0.989). Comorbidities with hazard ratios >1.0 included comorbidity tier and 11 Elixhauser conditions, 3 of which (heart failure, renal failure, and chronic pulmonary disease) were among the most prevalent reasons for readmission., Limitations: Analysis of Medicare data permitted only use of variables reported for administrative purposes. Comorbidity data were analyzed only for inpatient diagnoses., Conclusions: One-third of patients were readmitted to acute hospitals within 90 days following rehabilitation for debility. Protective effect of greater motor function was diminished by 60 days after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation., (© 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.)

Study Design: Retrospective cross sectional., Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the independent associations between perceived participation in clinical decision making on rehabilitation length of stay, discharge functional status, and discharge setting following inpatient rehabilitation., Background: Active participation in the inpatient rehabilitation process, which is the most intense post-acute rehabilitation service, should lead to better patient experiences and outcomes., Methods: Self-reported information from participant interviews was linked with data in administrative medical records for Medicare beneficiaries discharged from inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 2007-2009. The decision making variable assessed participants' perceived participation in decision making during their inpatient rehabilitation stays. The three outcome variables were inpatient rehabilitation length of stay, discharge functional status, and discharge setting., Results: Among the 41,110 participants interviewed, approximately 89% strongly agreed or agreed , and 12% disagreed that they participated in decision making during their rehabilitation stays. The multivariable regression models showed that greater participation in decision making was associated (p < .05) with slightly longer lengths of stay, higher discharge functional status, and increased likelihood of community discharge., Conclusions: Nearly nine in 10 Medicare beneficiaries report participating in decision making when receiving inpatient rehabilitation services. Increasing participation may lead to improvements in fundamental rehabilitation outcomes.

Objective: To examine geographic and facility variation in cognitive and motor functional outcomes after postacute inpatient rehabilitation in patients with stroke., Design: Retrospective cohort design using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) claims files. Records from 1209 rehabilitation facilities in 298 hospital referral regions (HRRs) were examined. Patient records were analyzed using linear mixed models. Multilevel models were used to calculate the variation in outcomes attributable to facilities and geographic regions., Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation units and facilities., Participants: Patients (N=145,460) with stroke discharged from inpatient rehabilitation from 2006 through 2009., Intervention: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: Cognitive and motor functional status at discharge measured by items in the CMS Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility-Patient Assessment Instrument., Results: Variation profiles indicated that 19.1% of rehabilitation facilities were significantly below the mean functional status rating (mean ± SD, 81.58±22.30), with 221 facilities (18.3%) above the mean. Total discharge functional status ratings varied by 3.57 points across regions. Across facilities, functional status values varied by 29.2 points, with a 9.1-point difference between the top and bottom deciles. Variation in discharge motor function attributable to HRR was reduced by 82% after controlling for cluster effects at the facility level., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that variation in motor and cognitive function at discharge after postacute rehabilitation in patients with stroke is accounted for more by facility than geographic location., (Copyright © 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To examine the effect of obesity on incidence of disability and mortality among non-disabled older Mexicans at baseline., Materials and Methods: The sample included 8 415 Mexicans aged ≥ 50 years from the Mexican Health and Aging Study (2001 -2012), who reported no limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) at baseline and have complete data on all covariates. Sociodemographics, smoking status, comorbidities, ADL activities, and body mass index (BMI) were collected., Results: The lowest hazard ratio (HR) for disability was at BMI of 25 to < 30 (HR = 0.97;95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85-1.12).The lowest HR for mortality were seen among participants with BMIs 25 to < 30 (HR = 0.85; 95%CI, 075-0.97), 30 to < 35 (HR = 0.86; 95 %CI, 0.72-1.02), and > 35 (HR = 0.92; 95 %CI, 0.70-1.22)., Conclusion: Mexican older adults with a BMI of 25 to < 30 were at less risk for both disability and mortality.

Objective: To assess the utility of functional status in classifying patients by discharge setting after inpatient rehabilitation for hip fracture., Design: Retrospective cohort study., Setting: A total of 1257 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States., Patients: Medicare beneficiaries (N = 117,168) receiving inpatient rehabilitation for hip fracture from 2007 to 2009., Methods: Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses to assess the overall discriminatory ability of functional status scores (Functional Independence Measure [FIM] total, FIM cognition, and FIM motor) and to identify the functioning threshold that best differentiates patients by discharge setting., Main Outcome Measurements: Discharge setting (community versus institutional)., Results: Approximately 68% of patients were discharged to the community after inpatient rehabilitation for hip fracture. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicate that discharge FIM motor ratings (area under the curve: 0.84) alone are as effective as a multivariable model (area under the curve: 0.85), including sociodemographic and clinical factors, in discriminating patients discharged to the community from those discharged to an institution. A discharge FIM motor rating of 58 yielded the best balance in sensitivity and specificity for classifying patients by discharge setting., Conclusions: Discharge FIM motor ratings demonstrated good discriminatory ability for classifying discharge setting. An FIM motor rating of 58 may serve as a clinical tool to guide treatment plans and/or as additional information in complex discharge planning decisions for patients with hip fracture., (Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to explore trajectories of recovery in patients with lower extremity joint replacements receiving post-acute rehabilitation. A retrospective cohort design was used to examine data from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR®) for 7434 patients with total knee replacement (TKR) and 4765 patients with total hip replacement (THR) who received rehabilitation from 2008 to 2010. Functional Independence Measure (FIM)™ instrument ratings were obtained at admission, discharge, and 80-180 days after discharge. Random coefficient regression analyses using linear mixed models were used to estimate mean ratings for items within the four motor subscales (self-care, sphincter control, transfers, and locomotion) and the cognitive domain of the FIM instrument. Mean improvements at discharge for motor items ranged from 1.16 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14, 1.19) to 2.69 (95% CI: 2.66, 2.71) points for sphincter control and locomotion, respectively. At follow-up mean motor improvements ranged from 2.17 (95% CI: 2.15, 2.20) to 4.06 (95% CI: 4.03, 4.06) points for sphincter control and locomotion, respectively. FIM cognition yielded smaller improvements: discharge=0.47 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.48); follow-up=0.83 (95% CI: 0.81, 0.84). Persons who were younger, female, non-Hispanic white, unmarried, with fewer comorbid conditions, and who received a TKR demonstrated slightly higher functional motor ratings. Overall, patients with unilateral knee or hip replacement experienced substantial improvement in motor functioning both during and up to six months following inpatient rehabilitation., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to present yearly aggregated summaries of rehabilitation outcomes at admission, discharge, and follow-up from a national sample of patients receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation for stroke, traumatic brain injury, lower extremity fracture, lower extremity joint replacement, traumatic spinal cord injury, or debility., Design: This is an analysis of secondary data from more than 300 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States that contributed inpatient and follow-up data to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation during the period January 2002 through December 2010. Aggregate variables reported include demographic information, social situation, and functional status (Functional Independence Measure instrument ratings at admission, discharge, and follow-up). Follow-up data were obtained 80-180 days after discharge through telephone interviews by trained clinical staff., Results: The final sample included 287,104 patients with follow-up information. The median time to follow-up was 95 days. Overall, more than 90% of the patients within each impairment group were living in the community at follow-up. Follow-up Functional Independence Measure total ratings were stable to slightly increased over time. Change scores (discharge to follow-up) increased in all six groups. The mean Functional Independence Measure gains from discharge to follow-up, as a percentage of mean gains from admission to discharge, varied by impairment category: 46% for spinal cord injury to 71% for lower extremity fracture. Locomotion yielded the lowest ratings at all three assessments within each of the six impairment groups., Conclusions: The follow-up data from the national sample of patients discharged from inpatient rehabilitation indicate that gains in mean functional independence scores from both admission to discharge and discharge to follow-up gradually increased from 2002 to 2010. At follow-up, more than nine of ten patients in all six groups are living in the community.

The purpose of this study was to determine independent influences of functional level and lower limb amputation type on inpatient rehabilitation outcomes. We conducted a secondary data analysis for patients with lower limb amputation who received inpatient medical rehabilitation (N = 26,501). The study outcomes included length of stay, discharge functional status, and community discharge. Predictors included the 3-level case mix group variable and a 4-category amputation variable. Age of the sample was 64.5 years (13.4) and 64% were male. More than 75% of patients had a dysvascular-related amputation. Patients with bilateral transfemoral amputations and higher functional severity experienced longest lengths of stay (average 13.7 days) and lowest functional rating at discharge (average 79.4). Likelihood of community discharge was significantly lower for those in more functionally severe patients but did not differ between amputation categories. Functional levels and amputation type are associated with rehabilitation outcomes in inpatient rehabilitation settings. Patients with transfemoral amputations and those in case mix group 1003 (admission motor score less than 36.25) generally experience poorer outcomes than those in other case mix groups. These relationships may be associated with other demographic and/or health factors, which should be explored in future research.

Objective: To examine and describe regional variation in outcomes for persons with stroke receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation., Design: Retrospective cohort design., Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation units and facilities contributing to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from the United States., Participants: Patients (N=143,036) with stroke discharged from inpatient rehabilitation during 2006 and 2007., Interventions: Not applicable., Main Outcome Measures: Community discharge, length of stay (LOS), and discharge functional status ratings (motor, cognitive) across 10 geographic service regions defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)., Results: Approximately 71% of the sample was discharged to the community. After adjusting for covariates, the percentage discharged to the community varied from 79.1% in the Southwest (CMS region 9) to 59.4% in the Northeast (CMS region 2). Adjusted LOS varied by 2.1 days, with CMS region 1 having the longest LOS at 18.3 days and CMS regions 5 and 9 having the shortest at 16.2 days., Conclusions: Rehabilitation outcomes for persons with stroke varied across CMS regions. Substantial variation in discharge destination and LOS remained after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics., (Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Functional mobility is necessary to perform activities of daily living and for community participation for everyone, but especially important for persons with disabilities (PWD). Therefore, functional mobility requires reliable measurement of consumer satisfaction and functional changes. The functional mobility assessment (FMA) instrument is a self-report outcomes tool designed to measure effectiveness of wheeled mobility and seating (WMS) interventions for PWD. This study examined the test-retest reliability of the FMA, and the stability of self-reported performance items., Method: A repeated-measures cohort study was conducted at the Center for Assistive Technology, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Participants (n = 41) completed an initial FMA questionnaire, and were re-administered the questionnaire within 7-21 days of the first questionnaire completion. The study sample included 20 participants who were non-WMS users but in the process of being evaluated for a device and 21 participants who were existing WMS users. Intra-Class Correlation coefficients (ICC) were computed to determine agreement between the two scores., Results: Test-retest reliability scores for all items and participants were above the acceptable value for a clinical assessment tool (≥0.80). Responses on the FMA of Existing WMS users and non-WMS users did not differ significantly at test or retest., Conclusions: Results indicate that the FMA was a reliable and stable tool for assessing the functional performance of individuals who use or need WMS interventions.

Background: It is unclear if volume-outcome relationships exist in inpatient rehabilitation., Objectives: Assess associations between facility volumes and 2 patient-centered outcomes in the 3 most common diagnostic groups in inpatient rehabilitation., Research Design: We used hierarchical linear and generalized linear models to analyze administrative assessment data from patients receiving inpatient rehabilitation services for stroke (n=202,423), lower extremity fracture (n=132,194), or lower extremity joint replacement (n=148,068) between 2006 and 2008 in 717 rehabilitation facilities across the United States. Facilities were assigned to quintiles based on average annual diagnosis-specific patient volumes., Measures: Discharge functional status (FIM instrument) and probability of home discharge., Results: Facility-level factors accounted for 6%-15% of the variance in discharge FIM total scores and 3%-5% of the variance in home discharge probability across the 3 diagnostic groups. We used the middle volume quintile (Q3) as the reference group for all analyses and detected small, but statistically significant (P<0.01) associations with discharge functional status in all 3 diagnosis groups. Only the highest volume quintile (Q5) reached statistical significance, displaying higher functional status ratings than Q3 each time. The largest effect was observed in FIM total scores among fracture patients, with only a 3.6-point difference in Q5 and Q3 group means. Volume was not independently related to home discharge., Conclusions: Outcome-specific volume effects ranged from small (functional status) to none (home discharge) in all 3 diagnostic groups. Patients with these conditions can be treated locally rather than at higher volume regional centers. Further regionalization of inpatient rehabilitation services is not needed for these conditions.

Background: Pneumonia is a common comorbidity among hospitalized older adults and may impede functional restoration and increase medical cost. Medicare reimbursement rates for patients receiving in-patient medical rehabilitation services are higher for individuals who have comorbid pneumonia. We examined the impact of comorbid pneumonia on outcomes for patients with lower extremity fracture receiving in-patient medical rehabilitation services., Methods: Secondary data analysis of medical records obtained from 919 in-patient rehabilitation facilities in the United States. The sample included 153,241 subjects who received in-patient rehabilitation services following lower extremity fracture in 2005-2007. We used multivariable linear regression to evaluate the independent effects of pneumonia on stay and discharge functional status (Functional Independence Measure instrument), and logistic regression models to explore discharge to home versus not home., Results: Pneumonia was a comorbidity for 4,265 (2.8%) of the subjects with lower extremity fracture. The multivariable models indicated that subjects with no payment-eligible comorbidity experienced shorter stay (regression coefficient -0.44, 95% CI -0.60 to -0.28 d), higher discharge functional status ratings (regression coefficient 1.84, 95% CI 1.42-2.25 points), and higher odds of home discharge (odds ratio 1.19, 95% CI 1.09-1.29), compared to subjects with pneumonia., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that comorbid pneumonia is associated with poorer rehabilitation outcomes (stay, discharge functional status, and discharge setting) among subjects receiving in-patient rehabilitation services for lower extremity fracture.

Objective: Benchmark data are provided for a national sample of patients who received inpatient rehabilitation for debility., Design: Patients with debility from 830 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in the United States contributing to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from 2000 to 2010 were examined. Demographic information (age, marital status, sex, race/ethnicity, prehospital living setting, and discharge setting), hospital information (length of stay, program interruptions, payer, and codes for admitting diagnosis), and functional status (Functional Independence Measure [FIM] instrument ratings at admission and discharge, FIM change, and FIM efficiency) were analyzed., Results: Data from 2000 to 2010 (N = 260,373) revealed a decrease in mean (SD) FIM total admission ratings from 73.9 (16.2) to 62.5 (15.8). The FIM total discharge ratings decreased from 95.0 (19.7) to 88.2 (19.8). Mean (SD) length of stay decreased from 14.3 (9.1) to 12.1 (6.2) days. The FIM efficiency (change/day) increased from 1.9 (1.7) to 2.4 (1.9). Discharge to community decreased from 80% to 75%. Acute care discharges accounted for 12% of the cases. Policy changes affecting classification, reimbursement, and/or documentation processes may have influenced the results., Conclusions: National data indicate that the number of debility cases is increasing with diverse composition of etiologic diagnoses. A high proportion of these patients is discharged to acute care compared with other impairment groups.

The objectives of this study were: to identify the factors that are associated with prescription of wheeled mobility devices for older adults, and to determine the effect that living setting has on the types of devices that older adults receive. Retrospective medical chart review at the Center for Assistive Technology on 337 older individuals. These individuals were aged >60 years, and each of them received a new wheeled mobility device from the center during 2007 or 2008. Data were analyzed in three tiers: tier 1 (manual versus powered mobility devices); tier 2 (motorized scooters versus power wheelchairs); and tier 3 (customized versus standard power wheelchairs). For tier 1, the factor associated with higher odds for receipt of manual wheelchairs versus powered were: cognitive limitations (OR = .03). For tier 2, diagnosis of cardio-vascular and pulmonary conditions were associated with prescription of motorized scooters (OR = 3.9). For tier 3, neurological conditions (OR = 3.1), male gender (OR = .37), institutional living (OR = .23), and lower age (OR = .96) were associated with receipt of customized power wheelchairs. This study objectively describes factors associated with prescription of wheeled mobility for older adults. This information can aid in development of guidelines and improving standards of practice for prescription of wheelchairs for older adults.