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. 2017 Jan 17;3:2333721416689042. doi: 10.1177/2333721416689042

Table 2.

Health Care Utilization by Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries in the Four Subgroups.

Health-related outcomes Coexisting dementia and cancer (n = 1,294), n (%) Dementia only (n = 8,533), n (%) Cancer only (n = 11,696), n (%) Neither dementia nor cancer (n = 74,601), n (%)
Rate of hospitalizations* 397 (30.68) 2,220 (25.96) 2,249 (19.23) 7,566 (10.11)
Percent with 3 or more hospitalizations* 257 (19.86) 1,017 (11.92) 612 (5.23) 1,208 (1.62)
Number of hospitalizations, M (SD) 1.47 (1.53) 0.99 (1.37) 0.54 (1.02) 0.22 (0.65)
Among those hospitalized
 Average length of stay (days) for hospitalizations, M (SD) 7.41 (6.61) 7.00 (8.00) 6.31 (6.38) 5.41 (7.57)
 Number of hospital readmissions within 30 days, M (SD) 0.50 (0.91) 0.40 (0.84) 0.29 (0.70) 0.18 (0.56)
 Rate of hospital readmissions within 30 days* 211 (23.47) 820 (18.91) 602 (16.13) 1,078 (9.84)
 Percent with 2 or more hospital readmissions within 30 days* 102 (11.35) 387 (8.92) 230 (6.16) 346 (3.16)
 Average length of stay (days) for hospital readmissions within 30 days, M (SD) 8.23 (8.40) 7.60 (6.94) 7.70 (6.87) 6.26 (5.63)
 Number of intensive care unit use, M (SD) 0.52 (0.76) 0.47 (0.76) 0.45 (0.73) 0.40 (0.68)
 Rate of intensive care unit use* 350 (38.93) 1,535 (35.39) 1,327 (35.55) 3,597 (32.82)
 Percent with ≥3 intensive care use* 23 (1.78) 91 (1.07) 74 (0.63) 154 (0.21)
Number of ED visits, M (SD) 2.54 (2.56) 2.22 (1.74) 1.75 (1.31) 1.56 (1.18)
Rate of ED visits* 962 (74.34) 5,283 (61.91) 3,951 (33.78) 16,274 (21.28)
Percent with ≥3 ED visits* 348 (36.17) 1,565 (29.62) 692 (17.51) 2,028 (12.46)
Number of physician care visits, M (SD) 5.75 (6.42) 5.20 (5.76) 3.47 (3.65) 2.66 (3.23)
Percentage with ≥6 physician care visits* 483 (37.33) 2,954 (34.62) 2,379 (20.34) 10,515 (14.09)
Number of days in nursing homes, M (SD) 50.77 (46.37) 58.21 (57.91) 35.77 (37.55) 40.73 (43.58)
Hospice stay* 267 (20.63) 1,007 (11.80) 644 (5.51) 658 (0.88)
Number of days in hospice, M (SD) 31.56 (59.49) 39.67 (75.47) 25.47 (46.06) 38.83 (80.42)
Psychiatric outpatient visit 0.95 (3.71) 1.22 (5.74) 0.16 (1.69) 0.14 (0.71)
Neurologist visit 0.49 (1.27) 0.39 (1.10) 0.16 (0.80) 0.12 (0.70)
Oncologist visit 1.01 (2.70) 0.60 (0.69) 1.84 (3.96) 0.08 (0.80)
Discharge location*
 Community 797 (41.66) 3,289 (38.90) 4,678 (73.66) 12,555 (76.16)
 Nursing home 658 (34.40) 3,039 (35.94) 473 (7.45) 1,410 (8.55)
 Hospice 113 (5.91) 343 (4.06) 324 (5.10) 222 (1.35)
 Expired 97 (5.07) 393 (4.65) 337 (5.31) 547 (3.32)
 Other 248 (12.96) 1,392 (16.46) 539 (8.49) 1,752 (10.63)
Average Medicare payment (cost in US$)
 Per hospitalization, M (SD) 9,202.20 (9,278.00) 8,775.04 (9,674.69) 10,286.42 (11,541.85) 9,450.00 (72,046.19)
 Per hospital 30-day readmissions, M (SD) 10,310.22 (10,921.59) 9,767.89 (9,211.75) 11,416.96 (13,036.11) 9,790.40 (9,563.52)

Note. All comparisons were against those with neither cancer nor dementia. T test or chi-square test. ED = emergency department.

*

p < .05, **p < .0001.