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The influence of an intermediate care hospital on health care utilization among elderly patients - a retrospective comparative cohort study

Overview of attention for article published in BMC Health Services Research, February 2015
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Title
The influence of an intermediate care hospital on health care utilization among elderly patients - a retrospective comparative cohort study
Published in
BMC Health Services Research, February 2015
DOI 10.1186/s12913-015-0708-4
Pubmed ID
Authors

Unni Dahl, Roar Johnsen, Rune Sætre, Aslak Steinsbekk

Abstract

BackgroundAn intermediate care hospital (ICH) was established in a municipality in Central Norway in 2007 to improve the coordination of services and follow-up among elderly and chronically ill patients after hospital discharge. The aim of this study was to compare health care utilization by elderly patients in a municipality with an ICH to that of elderly patients in a municipality without an ICH.MethodsThis study was a retrospective comparative cohort study of all hospitalized patients aged 60 years or older in two municipalities. The data were collected from the national register of hospital use from 2005 to 2012, and from the local general hospital and two primary health care service providers from 2008 to 2012 (approx. 1,250 patients per follow-up year). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).ResultsThe length of hospital stay decreased from the time the ICH was introduced and remained between 10% and 22% lower than the length of hospital stay in the comparative municipality for the next five years. No differences in the number of readmissions or admissions during one year follow-up after the index stay at the local general hospital or changes in primary health care utilization were observed. In the year after hospital discharge, the municipality with an ICH offered more hour-based care to elderly patients living at home (estimated mean¿=¿234 [95% CI 215-252] versus 175 [95% CI 154-196] hours per person and year), while the comparative municipality had a higher utilization of long-term stays in nursing homes (estimated mean¿=¿33.3 [95% CI 29.0-37.7] versus 21.9 [95% CI 18.0-25.7] days per person and year).ConclusionsThis study indicates that the introduction of an ICH rapidly reduces the length of hospital stay without exposing patients to an increased health risk. The ICH appears to operate as an extension of the general hospital, with only a minor impact on the pattern of primary health care utilization.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 43 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United Kingdom 1 2%
Canada 1 2%
Unknown 41 95%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 8 19%
Student > Ph. D. Student 7 16%
Other 6 14%
Student > Bachelor 5 12%
Researcher 3 7%
Other 7 16%
Unknown 7 16%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Nursing and Health Professions 12 28%
Medicine and Dentistry 11 26%
Social Sciences 6 14%
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science 1 2%
Economics, Econometrics and Finance 1 2%
Other 3 7%
Unknown 9 21%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 02 February 2015.
All research outputs
#17,741,776
of 22,783,848 outputs
Outputs from BMC Health Services Research
#6,276
of 7,623 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#242,375
of 352,508 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Health Services Research
#64
of 84 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,783,848 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 19th percentile – i.e., 19% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 7,623 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.7. This one is in the 15th percentile – i.e., 15% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 84 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 20th percentile – i.e., 20% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.