Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25638151›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2015

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

Unni Dahl, Roar Johnsen, Rune Sætre, Aslak Steinsbekk

Registry-linked trialAbstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01706744 (Can Discharge Via an Intermediate Care Unit Prevent Aggravation of Disease and Loss of Functionality, Without Increasing the Level of Cost? A Controlled Observational Study), which is not on this map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01706744 nacompletednot on this map

Can Discharge Via an Intermediate Care Unit Prevent Aggravation of Disease and Loss of Functionality, Without Increasing the Level of Cost? A Controlled Observational Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorNorwegian University of Science and TechnologyRan2010 to 2013Enrolled328ConditionsPatients, AgedArmsIntermediate care unit, Local health care 1, Local health care 2
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Observational
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Unni DahlDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter, Post box 8905 , 7491, Trondheim, Norway. unni.dahl@ntnu.no.
Roar JohnsenDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter, Post box 8905 , 7491, Trondheim, Norway. roar.johnsen@ntnu.no.
Rune SætreDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter, Post box 8905 , 7491, Trondheim, Norway. rune.saetre@idi.ntnu.no.
Aslak SteinsbekkDepartment of Public Health and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Medisinsk teknisk forskningssenter, Post box 8905 , 7491, Trondheim, Norway. aslak.steinsbekk@ntnu.no.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

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.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCohort StudiesFemaleHospitalizationHospitals, GeneralHumansIntermediate Care FacilitiesLength of StayMaleMiddle AgedNorwayPatient Acceptance of Health CarePatient DischargePrimary Health CareRetrospective Studies

Identifiers

PMID25638151
PMCPMC4323014

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.