Table 1.
Characteristics of patients discharged to post-acute care facilities (PAC) and home from 1996 to 2010
| Characteristic | Discharged to PAC N=2,644,657 (88.4%) |
Discharged home N=345,367 (11.6%) |
PAC - home difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| % (95%CI) | % (95%CI) | Δ (95% CI) | |
| Age (median, yrs) | 76.6 (76.5–76.7) | 52.9 (52.8–52.9) | 23.7 (23.6 to 23.8) |
| 18–44 | 3.3 (3.2–3.4) | 38.3 (38.2–38.4) | −35.0 (−34.9 to –35.2) |
| 45–64 | 12.5 (12.3–12.8) | 27.5 (27.4–27.6) | −14.9 (−14.7 to −15.2) |
| 65–79 | 33.5 (33.2–33.8) | 22.8 (22.7–22.9) | 10.6 (10.3 to 10.9) |
| ≥80 | 50.7 (50.4–51.0) | 11.4 (11.3–11.4) | 39.3 (39.0 to 39.6) |
| Male gender | 37.0 (36.7–37.3) | 37.2 (37.1–37.3) | −0.2 (−0.1 to −0.6) |
| Race | |||
| White | 66.6 (66.4–66.9) | 61.6 (61.5–61.7) | 5.1 (4.8 to 5.4) |
| Black or African-American | 9.0 (8.8–9.1) | 12.3 (12.2–12.3) | −3.3 (−3.1 to −3.5) |
| Amer. Indian/Alaska Native | 0.3 (0.2–0.3) | 0.5 (0.4–0.5) | −0.2 (−0.2 to −0.2) |
| Asian, N. Hawaiian, or OPI | 0.8 (0.7–0.8) | 1.7 (1.7–1.8) | −1.0 (−0.9 to −1.0) |
| Multiple races | 0.4 (0.3–0.4) | 0.8 (0.8–0.8) | −0.4 (−0.4 to −0.5) |
| Not reported | 22.0 (21.7–22.2) | 21.5 (21.4–21.6) | 0.5 (0.2 to 0.7) |
| Marital status | |||
| Married | 17.1 (16.9–17.4) | 32.9 (32.8–33.0) | −15.8 (−15.5 to −16.0) |
| Non-married | 36.8 (36.5–37.1) | 28.3 (28.2–28.4) | 8.5 (8.2 to 8.8) |
| Not reported | 46.1 (45.7–36.4) | 38.8 (38.7–38.9) | 7.2 (6.9 to7.6) |
| Type of admission | |||
| Non-elective | 75.7 (75.4–76.0) | 62.4 (62.3–62.5) | 13.3 (12.9 to 13.6) |
| Elective | 16.0 (15.7–16.3) | 26.2 (26.1–26.4) | −10.3 (−10.0 to −10.6) |
| Not reported | 8.4 (8.2–8.6) | 11.4 (11.3–11.5) | −3.0 (−2.8 to −3.2) |
| Length of stay | |||
| Same-day discharge | 0.4 (0.3–0.4) | 1.7 (1.6–1.7) | −1.3 (−1.3 to −1.4) |
| 1–2 days | 9.1 (8.9–9.3) | 42.0 (41.9–42.1) | −32.9 (−32.7 to −33.2) |
| 3–7 days | 55.8 (55.5–56.1) | 44.4 (44.3–44.5) | 11.4 (11.1 to 11.7) |
| >7 days | 34.8 (34.5–35.1) | 11.9 (11.9–12.0) | 22.8 (22.5 to 23.1) |
| Source of payment | |||
| Medicare | 82.3 (82.0–82.5) | 36.1 (36.1–36.3) | 46.1 (45.8 to 46.4) |
| Medicaid | 4.9 (4.8–5.1) | 15.3 (15.2–15.4) | −10.4 (−10.2 to −10.5) |
| Private insurance | 10.7 (10.5–10.9) | 39.2 (39.1–39.3) | −28.5 (−28.3 to −28.7) |
| Self-pay | 0.8 (0.7–0.8) | 5.5 (5.5–5.6) | −4.7 (−4.7 to −4.8) |
| Other | 0.6 (0.6–0.6) | 2.2 (2.2–2.2) | −1.6 (−1.5 to −1.6) |
| Not reported | 0.7 (0.7–0.8) | 1.7 (1.6–1.7) | −0.9 (−0.9 to −1.0) |
Number of patients in each group and corresponding percentage are reported in raw (unweighted) form. There was no difference of more than 10% in geographic region of hospital, hospital size, and hospital ownership so they are not presented here. Also not shown is source of admission, as patients from locations other than home were often coded as coming from the Emergency Department. Nonelective admissions refer to those coded as urgent or emergent. N. Hawaiian = native Hawaiian; OPI = other Pacific Islander. Bold signifies a difference between groups of ≥10%, which we deemed a clinically important difference.