OBJECTIVE: To determine the costs of treating @entity55 in the nursing home setting and explore what factors are most responsible for that cost with a view to reducing cost. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: Thirty-six Missouri nursing homes participating in the study from April 1997 through September 1998. @entity1 : Nursing home residents with @entity55 who were not hospitalized (n = 502). We included residents evaluated in the @entity341 ( @entity341 ) and returned to the nursing home without admission. MEASUREMENTS: Residents were evaluated by project nurses. Examination findings, diagnostic testing, and treatment information for 30 days following evaluation were abstracted from medical records. Bills were obtained for individuals evaluated in the @entity341 . RESULTS: There was significant variation in the cost of treating @entity55 in nursing homes. Episode costs were higher for residents seen in the @entity341 of a hospital, residents with @entity6227 , black residents, and residents in larger facilities. Although @entity2749 were related to illness severity, most of the variation in cost is not explained by resident or illness characteristics. The average cost for treating an episode of @entity55 in the nursing home, over and above usual care, was  458. CONCLUSIONS: There is wide variation in treatment for residents with similar clinical presentations. For residents at low risk of mortality, using less expensive antibiotics and reducing @entity341 evaluation could result in cost reductions, although the effect on outcomes is unknown.

The cost of treating XXXX in the nursing home setting.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['PARTICIPANTS'] @entity2749 :: ('MESH:C580065', 'Disease') :: ['total episode costs'] @entity55 :: ('MESH:D011014', 'Disease') :: ['pneumonia'] @entity341 :: ('MESH:D004630', 'Disease') :: ['emergency department', 'ED'] @entity6227 :: ('MESH:D003668', 'Disease') :: ['decubitus ulcers']
@entity55 :: (MESH:D011014,Disease) :: ['pneumonia']
