Medicare Heart Failure Discharges in South Carolina: Greer Memorial Hospital is the only Hospital with an Average LOS for a 30-Day Episode of Care Below 4 Days
In Heart Failure
Get Dexur’s Personalized Hospital Specific Presentation on Quality, Safety, Compliance & Education
By: Jeffrey Maser Apr. 26, 2018
Greer Memorial Hospital in Greer had the lowest average length of stay (LOS) among South Carolina hospitals for a heart failure 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions with a 3.88 day average LOS between 2013-2016. This was more than three days lower than the national average of 7.08 days as well as the nearly identical 7.07 day average for South Carolina Medicare enrollees. Greer Memorial's average LOS was also the only rate in the state below 4 days. Chester Regional Medical Center in Chester ranked 2nd at 4.48 days and Roper St. Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital in Mt. Pleasant ranked 3rd at 4.93 days. McLeod Dillon in Dillon ranked 4th at 5.01 days while Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center came just behind at 5.02 days to rank 5th.
Hospitals in South Carolina were included in the rankings if they reported at least 50 DRG-291 (Heart Failure And Shock With Major Complication or Comorbidity) discharges between January 2013 - December 2016; 46 hospitals met this criteria. Average LOS for a 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions accounts for LOS during the index hospital stay in addition to any other days spent in the hospital within the first 30 days post-discharge due to an unplanned readmission. DRG-291 was selected for this analysis as it is the highest volume diagnosis related group within heart failure. The other two DRGs within the condition are DRG-292 and DRG-293.
One of the major contributing factors to Greer Memorial Hospital's best-in-state average LOS for a 30-day episode of care with unplanned readmissions was their 3.24 day average LOS for the index hospital stay. This was also lowest in the state and was more than two and a half days under both the national and state averages of 5.78 and 5.86 days, respectively. Another contributor was their 14.07% unplanned readmission rate, which ranked 4th lowest of the 46 analyzed hospitals and was also substantially lower than both the 21.77% national average and the 20.27% average for South Carolina Medicare enrollees. Furthermore, Greer Memorial's average LOS for unplanned readmitted hospital stays also ranked 4th lowest in the state at 4.53 days. Yet again, this was significantly lower than both the national and state averages of 5.97 and 5.94 days, respectively.
DEXUR PRO MEMBERS GET ACCESS TO:
- Hospital Location, DRG-291 Discharge Volume, DRG-291 Average LOS for a 30-Day Episode of Care with Unplanned Readmissions, DRG-291 Average LOS for the Index Hospital Stay, DRG-291 Unplanned Readmission Rate and DRG-291 Average LOS for Unplanned Readmitted Hospital Stays for the Nation, South Carolina Medicare Enrollees and the 10 South Carolina Hospitals with the Lowest DRG-291 Average LOS for a 30-Day Episode of Care with Unplanned Readmissions between January 2013 - December 2016
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
