Table 3.
Mean resource use and cost per participant over 12 months in Australian 2019/2020 dollars.
| 0/3-hour protocol (mean, SE; n = 1631) | 0/1-hour protocol (mean, SE; n = 1634) | Difference, bootstrapped p-value (95 %CI) | Total (mean, SE; n = 3265) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of unplanned admissions | 1.26 (0.04) | 1.17 (0.05) | −0.09, 0.115 (−0.21 to 0.02) | 1.21 (0.03) |
| Number of planned admissions | 0.70 (0.16) | 0.57 (0.05) | −0.13, 0.391 (−0.43 to 0.17) | 0.63 (0.08) |
| Number of specialist Attendances | 2.81 (0.15) | 2.76 (0.15) | −0.04, 0.831 (−0.43 to 0.35) | 2.78 (0.10) |
| Number of general practitioner attendances | 10.83 (0.26) | 10.99 (0.27) | 0.16, 0.677 (−0.58 to 0.89) | 10.91 (0.19) |
| Number of other attendances | 0.90 (0.05) | 0.79 (0.04) | −0.11, 0.087 (−0.23 to 0.02) | 0.84 (0.03) |
| Number of diagnostic imaging | 2.51 (0.09) | 2.53 (0.08) | 0.03, 0.825 (−0.23 to 0.29) | 2.52 (0.06) |
| Number of therapeutic procedures | 1.82 (0.15) | 1.75 (0.14) | −0.07, 0.760 (−0.50 to 0.36) | 1.78 (0.10) |
| Number of diagnostic procedures | 1.31 (0.05) | 1.40 (0.05) | 0.09, 0.211 (−0.05 to 0.22) | 1.36 (0.03) |
| Number of coronary angiography 30 days | 0.07 (0.01) | 0.08 (0.01) | −0.01, 0.45 (−0.01 to 0.02) | 0.07 (0.00) |
| Rate of direct discharge from ED during index presentation | 528 (32.37%) | 737 (45.10%) | 1264 (0.39) | |
| Index ED LOS (hours, median, Q1−Q3) | 6.24 (5.6, 4–7.1) | 5.63 (4.6, 3.4–6.4) | −0.62, <0.001 (−0.85 to −0.39) | 5.93 (5.1) |
| Index episode total LOS(hours, median, Q1−Q3) | 26.75 (6.5, 4.95–24.2) | 24.14 (5.3, 3.7–23.7) | −2.61, 0.298 (−7.53 to 2.31) | 25.44 (6.0) |
| Total ED LOS excluding index presentation (days, median, Q1-Q3) | 0.47 (0.27, 0.16–0.52) | 0.49(0.24, 0.15–0.50) | 0.02, 0.415 (−0.03 to 0.08) | 0.48 (0.26) |
| Total inpatient LOS(days, median, Q1-Q3) | 3.58 (0.37, 0.08–2.68) | 4.14 (0.32, 0–2.30) | 0.55, 0.158 (−0.22 to 1.33) | 3.86 (0.35) |
| Costs based on time | ||||
| Index ED costs | 1030.26 (6.87) | 1003.60 (5.88) | −26.67, 0.002 (−43.26 to −10.07) | 1016.92 (4.53) |
| Index total episode cost | 3560.57 (118.54) | 3905.64 (160.13) | −345.07, 0.066 (–22.88 to 713.02) | 3733.32 (99.68) |
| Index total episode cost if admitted | N = 1103/16314042.34 (151.04) | N = 897/16344734.63 (253.41) | −692.29, 0.024 (91.77 to 1292.81) | 4353.02 (141.11) |
| Total ED cost excluding index presentation | 1090.62 (61.68) | 1161.97 (75.15) | −71.35, 0.46 (−119.76 to 262.46) | 1126.33 (48.62) |
| Total ED costs within 30 days | 1248.23 (14.56) | 1236.98(16.48) | −11.25, 0.578 (−50.85 to 28.36) | 1242.6 (11.00) |
| Total ED costs beyond 30 days | 872.65 (56.52) | 928.58 (67.57) | −55.93, 0.540 (−123.16 to 235.01) | 900.64 (44.05) |
| Total inpatient costs within 30 days | 3102.65 (175.45) | 3279.34 (210.54) | 176.69, 0.501 (−338.14 to 691.52) | 3191.08 (137.04) |
| Total inpatient costs beyond 30 days | 5301.27 (397.22) | 5925.82 (422.81) | 624.55, 0.363 (−720.23 to 1969.32) | 5613.83 (290.09) |
| Total unplanned inpatient costs within 30 days | 2731.11 (156.78) | 2959.50 (204.57) | 228.39, 0.402 (−305.31 to 762.09) | 2845,41 (128.89) |
| Total unplanned inpatient costs beyond 30 days | 2652.79 (240.36) | 3315.62 (336.83) | 662.83, 0.119 (−170.23 to 1495.89) | 2984.51 (207.01) |
| Total planned inpatient costs within 30 days | 371.54 (74.06) | 319.84 (50.70) | 51.70, 0.574 (–232.13 to 128.73) | 345.66 (44.86) |
| Total planned inpatient costs beyond 30 days | 2648.48 (295.44) | 2610.20 (223.35) | − 38.28, 0.924 (−824.86 to 748.30) | 2629.32 (185.11) |
| In−hospital costs | ||||
| Total unplanned inpatient costs | 5383.91 (299.46) | 6275.13 (427.89) | 891.22, 0.077 (−96.07 to 1878.50) | 5829.93 (261.29) |
| Total planned inpatient costs | 3020.02 (316.83) | 2930.03 (232.92) | −89.98, 0.808 (−814.97 to 635.01) | 2974.98 (196.53) |
| Unplanned inpatient costs excluding index episode | 3152.99 (263.77) | 3861.06 (369.23) | 708.07, 0.196 (−365.48 to 1781.63) | 3507.35 (227.00) |
| Planned admission inpatient costs excluding index episode | 2721.16 (307.28) | 2442.05 (227.55) | −279.12, 0.452 (−1006.43 to 448.19) | 2581.48 (191.12) |
| Other costs | ||||
| Pathology | 567.62 (22.77) | 556.36 (21.46) | −11.26, 0.745 (−79.23 to 56.72) | 561.99 (15.64) |
| GP attendances | 1515.47 (43.36) | 1526.45 (44.64) | 10.97, 0.863 (−114.00 to 135.95) | 1520.96 (31.11) |
| Specialist attendances | 584.16 (32.78) | 556.03 (27.37) | −28.13, 0.476 (−105.43 to 49.16) | 570.08 (21.35) |
| Other attendances | 96.01 (4.84) | 87.11 (4.15) | −8.91, 0.186 (–22.12 to 4.30) | 91.56 (3.19) |
| Diagnostic imaging | 1129.03 (45.22) | 1098.15 (40.65) | −30.88, 0.609 (−149.06 to 87.29) | 1113.58 (30.40) |
| Therapeutic procedures | 796.73 (70.54) | 764.80 (69.04) | −31.93, 0.742 (–222.29 to 158.44) | 780.75 (49.35) |
| Diagnostic procedures | 250.77 (13.68) | 250.53 (13.26) | −0.24, 0.990 (−36.51406 to 36.0288) | 250.65 (9.52) |
| Total attendance | 2169.72 (64.55) | 2131.57 (60.17) | −38.15, 0.672 (−214.51 to 138.21) | 2150.62 (44.11) |
| Total MBS items (excluding inpatient costs) | 5176.62 (165.56) | 5043.07 (158.34) | −133.55, 0.571 (−596.04 to 328.94) | 5109.78 (114.53) |
| Total medication costs | 2914.86 (372.11) | 2674.98 (272.09) | −239.88, 0.594 (−1121.54 to 641.78) | 2794.81 (230.40) |
| Total costs | 18616.27 (722.82) | 19088.76 (743.23) | 472.49, 0.617 (−1380.15 to 2325.13) | 18852.74 (518.33) |
Abbreviations: CI, Confidence interval; ED, Emergency department; GP, General Practitioner; LOS, Length of stay; MBS, Medicare Benefits Schedule; SE, Standard error.