Table 2. Association of Continuity of the Weighted Mean Schedules of Hospitalists Providing Care for Patients With Outcomes of Hospitalization by Quartilea.
| Outcomeb | Quartile of Weighted Average of Hospitalist Schedulesa | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| Admissions, No. | 29 068 | 28 967 | 28 721 | 28 291 |
| 30-d Mortality | ||||
| Unadjusted rate, No. (%) | 2101 (7.23) | 1965 (6.85) | 1905 (6.63) | 1831 (6.47) |
| aOR (95% CI) | 1 [Reference] | 0.92 (0.85-0.98) | 0.90 (0.83-0.98) | 0.88 (0.81-0.95) |
| 30-d Readmission | ||||
| Unadjusted rate, No. (%) | 4830 (16.62) | 4747 (16.54) | 4746 (16.52) | 4701 (16.61) |
| HR (95% CI) | 1 [Reference] | 0.97 (0.93-1.01) | 0.96 (0.91-1.01) | 0.94 (0.90-0.99) |
| Discharged home | ||||
| Unadjusted rate, No. (%) | 12 778 (43.95) | 12 582 (43.84) | 12 658 (44.07) | 13 154 (46.50) |
| aOR (95% CI) | 1 [Reference] | 1.05 (1.01-1.09) | 1.03 (0.99-1.08) | 1.08 (1.03-1.13) |
Abbreviations: E&M, evaluation and management; HR, hazard ratio; aOR, adjusted odds ratio.
The schedule continuity of hospitalists was categorized as the percentage of their working days in the year of the admission that were part of a block of at least 7 consecutive working days. Each admission was then assigned a weighted mean hospitalist schedule, which was the mean of the continuity of each hospitalist providing care during that admission, weighted by the number of days each hospitalist submitted an E&M claim.
Adjusted odds ratios for 30-day mortality and discharge home were derived from a conditional logistic regression model, and HRs for 30-day readmissions were derived from a conditional Cox proportional hazard model, with death as a competing risk.