Table 3. Demographic Characteristics of Patients Readmitted to Acute Care Hospitals After Discharge to Hospice.
| Characteristic | Patient groupa | % Readmitted | P value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Readmitted to hospital after hospice enrollment | ||||
| No | Yes | ||||
| Absolute prevalence | 2688 | 2320 | 368 | 13.7 | NA |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 73.2 (14.7) | 73.8 (14.3) | 69.7 (16.4) | NA | <.001 |
| Race and ethnicity | |||||
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 5 (0.2) | 5 (0.2) | 0 | 0 | <.001 |
| Asian or Pacific Islander | 217 (8.1) | 180 (7.8) | 37 (10.1) | 17.1 | |
| Black or African American | 182 (6.8) | 138 (5.9) | 44 (11.9) | 24.2 | |
| Hispanic | 520 (19.3) | 441 (19.0) | 79 (21.5) | 15.2 | |
| White | 1674 (62.3) | 1479 (63.7) | 195 (53.0) | 11.6 | |
| Otherb | 73 (2.7) | 60 (2.6) | 13 (3.5) | 17.8 | |
| Unknown | 17 (0.6) | 17 (0.7) | 0 | 0 | |
| Race and ethnicity (binary) | |||||
| Racial and ethnic minority groupsc | 997 (37.1) | 824 (35.5) | 173 (47.0) | 17.3 | <.001 |
| White | 1674 (62.3) | 1479 (63.7) | 195 (53.0) | 11.6 | |
| Unknown | 17 (0.6) | 17 (0.7) | 0 | 0 | |
| Principal language | |||||
| English | 2332 (86.8) | 2027 (87.4) | 305 (82.9) | 13.1 | .02 |
| Language other than English | 354 (13.2) | 292 (12.6) | 62 (16.8) | 17.5 | |
| Unknown | 2 (0.1) | 1 (0.04) | 1 (0.3) | 50.0 | |
| Payer | |||||
| Medicare | 1929 (71.8) | 1704 (73.4) | 225 (61.1) | 11.7 | <.001 |
| Commercial | 435 (16.2) | 367 (15.8) | 68 (18.5) | 15.6 | |
| Medi-Cal (Medicaid) | 293 (10.9) | 223 (9.6) | 70 (19.0) | 23.9 | |
| Others | 22 (0.8) | 19 (0.8) | 3 (0.8) | 13.6 | |
| Self-pay | 9 (0.3) | 7 (0.3) | 2 (0.5) | 22.2 | |
| DCI, mean (SD)d | 42.1 (24.7) | 41.6 (24.7) | 45.0 (24.3) | NA | .02 |
| DCI (binary)e | |||||
| Prosperous or comfortable | 1314 (50.0) | 1152 (50.8) | 162 (45.0) | 12.3 | .04 |
| Midtier, at risk, or distressed | 1315 (50.0) | 1117 (49.2) | 198 (55.0) | 15.1 | |
Abbreviations: DCI, Distressed Community Index; NA, not applicable.
a
Unless otherwise indicated, data are expressed as No. (%) of patients. Percentages have been rounded and may not total 100.
b
Category used by the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development data set; no additional information available.
c
Includes American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black or African American, Hispanic, and other race or ethnicity.
d
Ranges from 0 to 100, with higher indices indicating higher levels of distress.
e
Fifty-nine records did not include zip codes.