Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge
Authors: Daniel J. Brotman, Romsai T. Boonyasai, Amy Deutschendorf
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters15 November 2011Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After DischargeDaniel J. Brotman, MD, Romsai T. Boonyasai, MD, and Amy Deutschendorf, MDDaniel J. Brotman, MDFrom The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287.Search for more papers by this author, Romsai T. Boonyasai, MDFrom The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287.Search for more papers by this author, and Amy Deutschendorf, MDFrom The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-155-10-201111150-00019 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Kuo and Goodwin (1) provide evidence that hospitalists must improve how they transition patients back to their PCPs and that suboptimal transitions of care may cause excess postdischarge costs. However, we are intrigued that the per-day charges for hospital care varied so dramatically between hospitalized patients cared for by hospitalists versus those cared for by PCPs.By analyzing length of stay (LOS) and total charges from Medicare Provider Analysis and Review files, the authors found that the mean LOS among patients cared for by hospitalists was 5.17 days with mean charges to Medicare of $15 019 per admission, ...References1. Kuo YF, Goodwin JS. Association of hospitalist care with medical utilization after discharge: evidence of cost shift from a cohort study. Ann Intern Med. 2011;155:152-9. [PMID: 21810708] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Fine MJ, Pratt HM, Obrosky DS, Lave JR, McIntosh LJ, Singer DE, et al. Relation between length of hospital stay and costs of care for patients with community-acquired pneumonia. Am J Med. 2000;109:378-85. [PMID: 11020394] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Wachter RM, Katz P, Showstack J, Bindman AB, Goldman L. Reorganizing an academic medical service: impact on cost, quality, patient satisfaction, and education. JAMA. 1998;279:1560-5. [PMID: 9605901] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Daniel J. Brotman, MD; Romsai T. Boonyasai, MD; Amy Deutschendorf, MDAffiliations: From The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD 21287.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoAssociation of Hospitalist Care With Medical Utilization After Discharge: Evidence of Cost Shift From a Cohort Study Yong-Fang Kuo and James S. Goodwin Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge Arun K. Raman Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge Dimitriy Levin and Jeffrey J. Glasheen Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge Joshua Freeman Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge Yong-Fang Kuo and James S. Goodwin Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge David M. Mitchell Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge David O. Meltzer and Jeanette W. Chung Hospital Care and Medical Utilization After Discharge Jean-Sebastien Rachoin Metrics 15 November 2011Volume 155, Issue 10Page: 720-721KeywordsConflicts of interestDiagnosis related groupsHospitalistsInpatientsLength of stayMedicareMotivationOutpatient clinicsPatients ePublished: 15 November 2011 Issue Published: 15 November 2011 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...