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.
From the February 01, 2014 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
