TABLE 1—
Patients Who Left Hospital Against Medical Advice | Patients Who Were Formally Discharged | P | |
Total, No. | 43 678 | 2 995 372 | |
Age, y, mean ± SD | 47 ± 16 | 61 ± 20 | <.001 |
Male gender, % | 62.8 | 44.7 | <.001 |
Median income of patient’s home zip code, % | <.001 | ||
< $25 000 | 2.34 | 97.66 | |
$25 000–$34 999 | 1.6 | 98.4 | |
$35 000–$44 999 | 1.43 | 98.57 | |
≥ $45 000 | 1.2 | 98.8 | |
Primary health insurance, % | <.001 | ||
Private | 1.07 | 98.93 | |
Medicaid | 3.42 | 96.58 | |
Medicare | 0.75 | 99.25 | |
No chargea | 3.12 | 96.88 | |
Other | 1.98 | 98.02 | |
Self-pay | 4.49 | 95.51 | |
Race/ethnicity, % | <.001 | ||
White | 1.28 | 98.72 | |
African American | 2.35 | 97.65 | |
Hispanic | 1.7 | 98.3 | |
Other | 1.76 | 98.24 | |
Unknown | 1.2 | 98.8 | |
Hospital type | <.001 | ||
Nonteaching | 1.37 | 98.63 | |
Teaching | 1.53 | 98.47 | |
Location, % | <.001 | ||
Rural | 1.02 | 98.98 | |
Urban, nonteaching hospital | 1.48 | 98.52 | |
Urban, teaching hospital | 1.55 | 98.45 | |
Hospital size,b % | <.001 | ||
Small | 1.23 | 98.77 | |
Medium | 1.7 | 98.3 | |
Large | 1.37 | 98.63 | |
Length of hospital stay, days, mean ± SD | 2.9 ± 5 | 5.1 ± 6 | <.001 |
No. of diagnoses, mean ± SD | 5.4 ± 3 | 6.5 ± 3 | <.001 |
No. of procedures, mean ± SD | 0.7 ± 1 | 1.3 ± 2 | <.001 |
Total hospital charge, $, mean ± SD | 11 400 ± 18 739 | 18 740 ± 30 733 | <.001 |
aThese patients were not billed for their medical visit as of the date of collection of these data.
bCategorized by number of beds.