Reports Summarize Healthcare Management Findings from Bruyere Research Institute

2020 SEP 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Hospital & Nursing Home Daily -- Fresh data on Health and Medicine - Healthcare Management are presented in a new report. According to news reporting originating from Ottawa, Canada, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “In Canada, alternate-level-of-care (ALC) beds in hospitals may be used when patients who do not require the intensity of services provided in an acute care setting are waiting to be discharged to a more appropriate care setting. However, when there is a lack of care options for patients waiting to be discharged, it contributes to prolonged hospital stays and bottlenecks in the health care system manifested as ‘hallway medicine.’ We examined the effectiveness of a function-focused transitional care program, the Sub-Acute care for Frail Elderly (SAFE) Unit, in reducing the length of stay (LOS) in hospital, as well as post-discharge acute care use and continuity of care. Case-control study.”

Financial support for this research came from Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) Health Systems Research.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from Bruyere Research Institute, “A 450-bed nursing home located in Ontario, Canada, where the SAFE Unit is based. The study population included frail, older patients aged 60 years and older who received care in the SAFE Unit between March 1, 2018, and February 28, 2019 (n=153) to controls comprising of other hospitalized patients (n=1773). We linked facility-level to provincial health administrative databases on hospital admissions and emergency department (ED) visits, and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan claims database for physician billings to investigated the LOS during the index hospitalization, 30-day odds of post-discharge ED visits, hospital readmission, and follow-up with family physicians. SAFE patients had a median hospital LOS of 13 days [interquartile range (IQR): 8-19 days], with 75% having fewer than 1 day in an ALC bed. In comparison, the median LOS in the control group was 15 days (IQR: 10-24 days), with one-third of those days spent in an ALC bed (median: 5 days, IQR: 3-10 days). SAFE patients were more likely (64.1%) to be discharged home than control patients (46.3%). Both groups experienced similar 30-day odds of ED visits, hospital readmission and follow-up with a family physician.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Frail older individuals in the SAFE Unit experienced shorter hospital stays, were less likely to be discharged to settings other than home and had similar 30-day acute care outcomes as control patients post-discharge.”

For more information on this research see: A Case-Control Study of the Sub-Acute Care for Frail Elderly (SAFE) Unit on Hospital Readmission, Emergency Department Visits and Continuity of Post-Discharge Care. Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, 2020;():. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; Journal of the American Medical Directors Association - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-american-medical-directors-association/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Annie H. Sun, Bruyere Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada. Additional authors for this research include Benoit Robert, Danielle Sinden, Sarah Spruin and Amy T. Hsu.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2020.07.020. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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