Medicare Pulmonary Embolism Discharges in Alabama: Inpatients at Cullman Regional Medical Center Spend the Fewest Days in the Hospital
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By: Jeffrey Maser Apr. 25, 2018
According to Dexur analysts, Cullman Regional Medical Center in Cullman had a 3.57 day average length of stay (LOS) for a 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions for Medicare inpatient pulmonary embolism discharges, the lowest rate of any Alabama hospital between 2013-2016. Baptist Medical Center South in Montgomery ranked 2nd at 3.96 days and joined Cullman Regional as one of only two hospitals in the state with an average LOS under 4 days for a 30-day episode of care. UAB Hospital in Birmingham ranked 3rd at 4.11 days while Decatur Morgan Hospital - Decatur Campus ranked 4th at 4.2 days. Princeton Baptist Medical Center in Birmingham rounded out the top five with a 4.29 day average LOS.
Average LOS for a 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions includes the index hospital length of stay and any additional days in the hospital due to unplanned readmissions in the first 30 days post-discharge. An unplanned readmission is defined as a hospital readmission via the emergency department. Alabama hospitals were included in the analysis if they accounted for a minimum of 50 DRG-176 (Pulmonary Embolism Without Major Complication or Comorbidity) discharges between January 2013 - December 2016; 24 hospitals met this criteria. During the analyzed time frame, the national average LOS for a 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions was 4.39 days compared to 4.68 days for Medicare enrollees from Alabama.
In addition to their top ranking average LOS for a 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions, Cullman Regional Medical Center also accounted for the lowest in-state average LOS for a 30-day episode of care with all readmissions at 4.09 days. This metric includes unplanned readmissions as well as planned follow-up visits along with any other inpatient visits to the hospital within the first 30 days following the index hospital stay. The national average for this metric was 4.76 days while Alabama Medicare enrollees averaged a 5.17 day rate. One major contributor to Cullman Regional leading Alabama hospitals in both of these 30-day episode of care metrics was their index hospital average LOS of 3.04 days, which also ranked best in the state. This was significantly lower than the national average of 3.87 days and was over a day lower than the 4.22 day average for Alabama Medicare enrollees.
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- Hospital Location, State Market Share of Total Inpatient Discharges, DRG-176 Discharge Volume, DRG-176 Average LOS for a 30-Day Episode of Care with Unplanned Readmissions, DRG-176 Average LOS for a 30-Day Episode of Care with All Readmissions and DRG-176 Average LOS for the Index Hospital Stay for the Nation, Alabama Medicare Enrollees and the 10 Alabama Hospitals with the Lowest DRG-176 Average LOS for a 30-Day Episode of Care with Unplanned Readmissions between January 2013 - December 2016
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