Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Entire cohort (n=10 731) | All readmissions (n=2398) | Potentially avoidable readmissions (n=858) | Unavoidable readmissions (n=1540) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) age, years | 61.0 (16.7) | 59.7 (16.4) | 60.7 (16.4) | 59.2 (16.4) |
| No (%) male sex | 5265 (49.1) | 1208 (50.4) | 409 (47.7) | 799 (51.9) |
| Ethnicity—No (%): | ||||
| Non-Hispanic white | 7821 (72.9) | 1814 (75.7) | 630 (73.4) | 1184 (76.9) |
| Non-Hispanic black | 1729 (16.1) | 369 (15.4) | 136 (15.9) | 233 (15.1) |
| Hispanic | 868 (8.1) | 173 (7.2) | 77 (9.0) | 96 (6.2) |
| Other | 313 (2.9) | 42 (1.8) | 15 (1.8) | 27 (1.8) |
| Language—No (%): | ||||
| English | 9790 (91.2) | 2221 (92.6) | 787 (91.7) | 1434 (93.1) |
| Spanish | 534 (5.0) | 102 (4.3) | 49 (5.7) | 53 (3.4) |
| Other | 407 (3.8) | 75 (3.1) | 22 (2.6) | 53 (3.4) |
| Marital status—No (%): | ||||
| Currently married or partner | 5504 (51.3) | 1258 (52.5) | 440 (51.3) | 818 (53.1) |
| Single/never married | 2714 (25.3) | 621 (25.9) | 216 (25.2) | 405 (26.3) |
| Separated/divorced/ widowed/no answer | 2513 (23.4) | 519 (21.6) | 202 (23.5) | 317 (20.6) |
| Primary insurance—No (%): | ||||
| Medicare | 5374 (50.1) | 1135 (47.3) | 430 (50.1) | 705 (45.8) |
| Medicaid | 885 (8.3) | 215 (9.0) | 77 (9.0) | 138 (9.0) |
| Private | 4453 (41.5) | 1038 (43.3) | 348 (40.6) | 690 (44.8) |
| No insurance | 19 (0.2) | 10 (0.4) | 3 (0.4) | 7 (0.5) |
| Type of index admission—No (%): | ||||
| Elective | 1502 (14.0) | 401 (16.7) | 80 (9.3) | 321 (20.8) |
| Urgent or emergent | 9229 (86.0) | 1997 (83.3) | 778 (90.7) | 1219 (79.2) |
| Median (IRQ) length of stay of index admission, days | 4 (3-7) | 5 (3-8) | 5 (3-8) | 4.5 (3-8) |
| Median (IRQ) No of hospital admissions in previous year | 1 (0-2) | 1 (0-3) | 1 (0-3) | 1 (0-3) |
| Mean (SD) No of selected chronic diseases | 1.74 (1.22) | 1.89 (1.17) | 2.05 (1.25) | 1.80 (1.11) |
| Selected comorbidities—No (%): | ||||
| Neoplasm | 4129 (38.5) | 1341 (55.9) | 441 (51.4) | 900 (58.4) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2639 (24.6) | 569 (23.7) | 238 (27.7) | 331 (21.5) |
| Chronic heart failure | 2308 (21.5) | 488 (20.4) | 209 (24.4) | 279 (18.1) |
| Ischemic heart disease | 2823 (26.3) | 537 (22.4) | 211 (24.6) | 326 (21.2) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1832 (17.1) | 334 (13.9) | 134 (15.6) | 200 (13.0) |
| Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease | 1078 (10.0) | 231 (9.6) | 87 (10.1) | 144 (9.4) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 1776 (16.6) | 410 (17.1) | 184 (21.5) | 226 (14.7) |
IRQ= interquartile range.