Outcomes of rehabilitation services for nursing home residents 12☆
Abstract
Murray PK, Singer M, Dawson NV, Thomas CL, Cebul RD. Outcomes of rehabilitation services for nursing home residents. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2003;84:1129–36.
Objective:
To examine survival and community discharge outcomes related to rehabilitation services among patients admitted to nursing homes before the implementation of the Balanced Budget Amendment of 1997.
Design:
Retrospective cohort.
Setting:
A total of 945 Medicaid-certified nursing homes in Ohio.
Participants:
A total of 11,150 patients admitted for the first time to a nursing home from 1994 to 1996.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures:
Community discharge and survival rates among patients who did or did not receive rehabilitation services, using multivariable techniques to adjust for patients’ propensity to receive rehabilitation and for other potential confounders. In secondary analyses, we also examined dose-response effects and analyzed the effects of rehabilitation when patients were divided into 5 diagnostic groups (stroke, hip fracture, congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, other).
Results:
Rehabilitation was provided to 58% of the patients and was associated with higher community discharge rates (relative risk=1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.40–1.57) and a lower hazard of death (hazard ratio=.81; 95% CI, .75–.88). Dose-response effects were observed for both outcomes (P<.001) among patients receiving rehabilitation. Rehabilitation was associated with improved community discharge rates in each of the 5 diagnostic groups.
Conclusions:
New reimbursement policies that discourage the provision of rehabilitation services may have adverse effects on patients, their families, and societal costs of care.
aCenter for Health Care Research and Policy, Cleveland, OH, USA
bCenter for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Division of General Medical Sciences, Cleveland, OH, USA
cDepartment of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
dDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH,USA
Correspondence to Patrick Murray, MD, MS, Center for Health Care Research and Policy, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Room R235A 2500 MetroHealth Dr, Cleveland, OH 44109-1998, USA
☆ Supported by the Ohio Board of Regents and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (grant no. 5 T32 HS00059-04).
1 No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or any organization with which the authors are associated.
ABSTRACT