Table 1.
Patient Characteristics at Index Admission, Quebec (Canada) 2002–2009
| Characteristics and Measures | No. (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Had Physician Visit within 30 Days of Discharge (N = 395,014) | Did Not Have Physician Visit within 30 Days of Discharge (N = 225,642) | |
| Sex, female | 202,268 (51.2) | 124,972 (55.4) |
| Age, years | ||
| 18–34 | 2,284 (0.6) | 1,480 (0.7) |
| 35–49 | 13,992 (3.5) | 6,558 (2.9) |
| 50–64 | 63,551 (16.1) | 28,294 (12.5) |
| 65–79 | 195,295 (49.4) | 100,664 (44.6) |
| ≥80 | 119,892 (30.4) | 88,646 (39.3) |
| Length of hospital stay, days | ||
| 0–2 | 98,779 (25.0) | 48,230 (21.4) |
| 3–6 | 130,755 (33.1) | 70,786 (31.4) |
| 7–13 | 107,812 (27.3) | 63,751 (28.25) |
| 14–20 | 37,386 (9.5) | 25,575 (11.3) |
| 21–30 | 20,282 (5.1) | 17,210 (7.6) |
| No. of previous admissions | ||
| 0 | 129,625 (32.8) | 69,000 (31.0) |
| 1 | 95,901 (24.3) | 53,038 (23.5) |
| 2 | 60,548 (15.3) | 34,002 (15.1) |
| ≥3 | 108,940 (27.6) | 68,702 (30.5) |
| Time since previous admission | ||
| 30 days to 3 months | 85,202 (21.5) | 47,568 (21.1) |
| 3–6 months | 35,525 (9.0) | 21,384 (9.5) |
| 6 months to 1 year | 43,775 (11.1) | 26,336 (11.7) |
| ≥1 year | 100,887 (25.5) | 60,454 (26.8) |
| Cost of hospitalizations,a median (IQR) | $4,351 ($2,852–$6,948) | $4,581 ($2,950–$7,560) |
| Morbidity, % | ||
| Moderate | 64,264 (16.3) | 41,684 (18.5) |
| High | 111,242 (28.2) | 62,720 (27.8) |
| Very high | 219,508 (55.6) | 121,238 (53.7) |
| Time since enrollment with primary care physician | ||
| 3 months or less | 29,786 (7.5) | 13,802 (6.1) |
| 3–6 months | 26,461 (6.7) | 12,887 (5.7) |
| 6 months to 1 year | 48,372 (12.3) | 27,899 (12.4) |
| 1–2 years | 88,168 (22.3) | 48,821 (21.6) |
| ≥2 years | 202,227 (51.2) | 122,233 (54.2) |
| Material deprivation quintile | ||
| Q1 (low) | 55,175 (14.0) | 27,782 (12.3) |
| Q2 | 65,434 (16.6) | 34,948 (15.5) |
| Q3 | 78,484 (19.9) | 43,085 (19.1) |
| Q4 | 84,729 (21.5) | 48,168 (21.4) |
| Q5 (high) | 85,773 (21.7) | 54,073 (24.0) |
| Geographic region | ||
| Urban/university | 135,206 (34.2) | 74,226 (32.9) |
| Suburban | 159,604 (40.4) | 83,530 (37.0) |
| Intermediate | 80,112 (20.3) | 50,782 (22.5) |
| Rural | 19,227 (4.9) | 16,064 (7.1) |
Material deprivation quintile: 25.419 (6.4%) and 17,586 (7.8%) in patients who received follow‐up and those who did not, respectively; geographic region: 865 (0.2%) and 1,040 (0.5%) in patients who had in‐person physician visit and those who did not, respectively.
a
Costs in current Canadian dollars are based on resource intensity weights for an admission multiplied by its unit cost per fiscal year.
IQR, interquartile range.