Table 1. Characteristics of Patient Transfers for Acute Surgical Conditions.
| Characteristic | Study Cohort N=2,091 |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Age (mean ± standard deviation) | 57 ± 17 |
|
| |
| Gender (N, %) | |
| Male | 1,106 (53) |
| Female | 985 (47) |
|
| |
| Race (N, %) | |
| White | 1,807 (86) |
| Non-White | 211 (10) |
| Unknown | 73 (4) |
|
| |
| Insurance Status (N, %) | |
| Private | 697 (33) |
| Medicare | 976 (47) |
| Medicaid/Uninsured | 418 (20) |
|
| |
| Surgical Service (N, %) | |
| General | 1,244 (60) |
| Vascular | 378 (18) |
| Thoracic | 221 (11) |
| Urologic | 248 (12) |
|
| |
| Elixhauser Comorbidity Score (median, IQRa) | 5 (0-12) |
|
| |
| Acute Physiology Score (median, IQRa) | 3 (2-5) |
|
| |
| Prior Accepting Facility Care for Transfer Diagnosis (N, %) | 881 (42) |
|
| |
| Year of Service (N, %) | |
| 2009 | 410 (20) |
| 2010 | 417 (20) |
| 2011 | 455 (22) |
| 2012 | 321 (15) |
| 2013 | 488 (23) |
|
| |
| Emergency Medical Condition (N, %) | 1,455 (70) |
|
| |
| Reason for Transfer (N, %) | |
| Higher Level of Care/Specialist Care | 1,311 (63) |
| Continuity of Care | 654 (31) |
| Patient/Family Request | 115 (6) |
| Other | 11 (<1) |
|
| |
| Pre-transfer Intervention (N, %) | 305 (15) |
|
| |
| Duration of Pre-Transfer and Transfer Processes | |
| Time to Transfer Request (days, median, IQRa) | 0 (0-1) |
| Time to Transfer Request (hours, median, IQRa) | 4 (2-27) |
| Transfer Request to Accepting Facility Admission (hours, median, IQRa) | 6 (4-10) |
a
IQR=Interquartile range