Table 2.
Factors associated with unplanned hospital readmission
| Variables | Any readmission (Ref: no readmission)a |
Readmission to a different hospital (Ref: readmission to the same hospital)a |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prevalence (%) | OR (95% CI) | P | Prevalence (%) | OR (95% CI) | P | |
| Patient characteristics | ||||||
| Age | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| 50–59 | 9.6 | 1 | 23.4 | 1 | ||
| 60–69 | 10.5 | 1.007 (0.978–1.036) | 22.9 | 0.996 (0.933–1.063) | ||
| 70–79 | 12.1 | 1.085 (1.051–1.12) | 20.8 | 0.922 (0.859–0.989) | ||
| 80+ | 14.0 | 1.247 (1.208–1.286) | 18.7 | 0.819 (0.763–0.879) | ||
| Sex | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| Female | 11.2 | 0.889 (0.874–0.905) | 22.0 | 0.914 (0.877–0.952) | ||
| Male | 12.3 | 1 | 20.1 | 1 | ||
| Race | <0.001 | 0.336 | ||||
| White | 11.3 | 1 | 20.0 | 1 | ||
| Black | 14.1 | 1.142 (1.102–1.183) | 24.3 | 0.945 (0.871–1.026) | ||
| Hispanic | 12.2 | 1.02 (0.994–1.047) | 23.1 | 0.956 (0.899–1.017) | ||
| Other | 12.1 | 1.031 (0.998–1.064) | 21.8 | 0.963 (0.892–1.04) | ||
| Insurance | <0.001 | 0.138 | ||||
| Medicare | 12.9 | 1 | 20.1 | 1 | ||
| Medi-Cal | 14.8 | 1.169 (1.129–1.211) | 25.1 | 1.001 (0.928–1.081) | ||
| Private | 8.1 | 0.783 (0.761–0.806) | 21.5 | 1.021 (0.956–1.089) | ||
| Otherb | 8.1 | 0.783 (0.743–0.825) | 26.9 | 1.145 (1.02–1.286) | ||
| Income level | <0.001 | 0.002 | ||||
| Low | 12.6 | 1.011 (0.988–1.035) | 24.0 | 1.089 (1.03–1.151) | ||
| Medium | 11.8 | 1 | 20.4 | 1 | ||
| High | 10.6 | 0.937 (0.914–0.96) | 19.0 | 0.963 (0.906–1.023) | ||
| Admission history | <0.001 | 0.755 | ||||
| Yes | 19.7 | 1.768 (1.731–1.806) | 21.5 | 0.992 (0.946–1.041) | ||
| No | 10.3 | 1 | 20.8 | 1 | ||
| Number of chronic conditions | 1.149 (1.143–1.156) | <0.001 | 0.993 (0.979–1.006) | 0.296 | ||
| Length of stay, index hospitalization | 1.025 (1.024–1.026) | <0.001 | 1.005 (1.003–1.007) | <0.001 | ||
| Index hospital characteristics | ||||||
| Staffed beds (size) | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| Small | 11.7 | 1.03 (0.989–1.072) | 28.0 | 1.67 (1.387–2.01) | ||
| Medium | 11.8 | 1 | 20.3 | 1 | ||
| Large | 11.5 | 0.975 (0.946–1.005) | 20.3 | 0.842 (0.697–1.017) | ||
| Ownership | <0.001 | <0.001 | ||||
| Profit | 12.1 | 1.008 (0.976–1.042) | 29.4 | 1.845 (1.556–2.187) | ||
| Public | 12.2 | 1.091 (1.045–1.139) | 21.0 | 1.217 (0.973–1.522) | ||
| Non-profit | 11.5 | 1 | 19.1 | 1 | ||
| Teaching hospital | 0.009 | 0.067 | ||||
| Yes | 11.9 | 1.063 (1.016–1.112) | 23.8 | 1.299 (0.982–1.717) | ||
| No | 11.7 | 1 | 20.6 | 1 | ||
| Location | 0.457 | 0.924 | ||||
| Urban | 11.7 | 1 | 21.0 | 1 | ||
| Rural | 11.3 | 1.023 (0.964–1.085) | 21.5 | 0.987 (0.756–1.289) | ||
| Operational margin | 1.001 (1.000–1.002) | 0.186 | 0.999 (0.993–1.005) | 0.742 | ||
| Countyc characteristics | ||||||
| Herfindahl Index | 0.868 (0.784–0.96) | 0.006 | 0.534 (0.318–0.896) | 0.018 | ||
| PCP rate/10 | 0.992 (0.985–0.999) | 0.024 | 0.999 (0.958–1.041) | 0.961 | ||
| % College degrees | 1.004 (1–1.007) | 0.037 | 1.009 (0.989–1.029) | 0.386 | ||
| Preventable hospitalization rate/10 | 1.043 (1.022–1.063) | <0.001 | 1.117 (0.993–1.256) | 0.064 | ||
aAlong with the number of chronic conditions [23, 24], 17 dummies for 18 clinical condition groups [16, 17] are included in the model to adjust case-mix, but they were omitted from the table because of space limitations.
bOther includes self-pay, no-charge, county indigent programs, charity care, etc.
cA county is the one where the index hospital was located at.