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Hospital utilization patterns and costs for adult sickle cell patients in Illinois.
- Source :
-
Public Health Reports . Jan/Feb97, Vol. 112 Issue 1, p44-51. 8p. - Publication Year :
- 1997
-
Abstract
- Objectives. To determine population size, demographic characteristics, hospital utilization patterns, the specialties of physicians providing care, and costs for hospitalized adult sickle cell patients in Illinois. Methods. A statewide, administrative dataset for the two-year period from January 1992 through December 1993 was analyzed retrospectively. Results. There were 8403 admissions among 1189 individual sickle cell patients for the two-year period. Eighty-five percent of patients resided in the Chicago metropolitan area. The median age of the 1189 patients was 29; two-thirds had Medicaid or Medicare coverage. Emergency departments were the primary source of admissions (85.7%). The most common admitting diagnosis was painful crisis (97.4%), and average length of stay was four days. The median number of admissions per patient was three; most patients (85%) used only one or two hospitals. A small group used more than four hospitals and accounted for 23% of statewide admissions. Primary care physicians cared for most patients, and total hospitalization charges were more than $59 million. Conclusions. In Illinois the adult sickle cell population is concentrated in major urban centers, primarily the Chicago metropolitan area. These patients accounted for approximately 8400 admissions and more than $59 million in hospital charges during the two-year study period. A small group of patents used multiple hospitals and accounted for more than 23% of total hospitalization charges. This study shows the necessity of and provides a useful framework for developing targeted programs for adult sickle cell patients as well as for training physicians to efficiently provide comprehensive health care services for this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00333549
- Volume :
- 112
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Public Health Reports
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 107288557