Dual eligibles moved out of an LTC facility have an increased risk of hospitalization.

Dual eligibles who move from a long-term care facility to home- and community-based services have a 40% increased risk of a potentially preventable hospital stay, according to new research.

Investigators at the University of Minnesota and the University of Hong Kong analyzed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data for seven states and then compared hospitalizations experienced by two groups: dual eligibles who transitioned out of a nursing home between 2003 and 2005, and those who remained in a long-term care facility.

Controlling for demographic and medical factors, the researchers determined that people who transitioned out of long-term care had an elevated risk of being hospitalized and also had their first hospitalization sooner than those living in nursing homes. Including both preventable and non-preventable hospitalizations, 419 people in the transition group were admitted, compared to 297 of the nursing home residents.

Members of nursing home staff provide round-the-clock care and generally have more training than caregivers in the home or community, which likely are reasons for these results, said lead researcher Andrea Wysocki, Ph.D.