13.81% of Huntsville Hospital’s Discharges were LOS Outliers, this was 2% Higher than the National Rate
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By: Emily Carpintero Dec. 12, 2017
Dexur’s recent analysis of CMS Medicare claims data from January 2016 through December 2016 showed that Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama had a higher average of length of stay (LOS) outliers compared to the state and national averages by 0.59% and 1.83%, respectively. Dexur analysts identified Medicare inpatients’ total discharges, total LOS outliers, and percentage of LOS outliers at the hospital, state and national level. This metric is significant to healthcare professionals because LOS outliers are costly for both hospitals and claims payers—keeping a low count of LOS outliers is beneficial for the hospital and patients. A background on LOS outliers and methodology for data collection can be read here. Below is a graph depicting the percentage of LOS outliers from several popular hospital categories for the hospital, state, and nation.
Percentage of LOS Outliers
for 6 Categories at the Hospital, State & National Level
The three highest volume discharging categories at Huntsville Hospital from Medicare inpatients were cardiovascular, orthopedics, and pulmonology. 13.56% of the cardiovascular category’s discharges were LOS outliers; this was higher than the state and national averages by 0.75% and 1.81%, respectively. The hospital’s orthopedic discharges were made up of 10.46% of LOS outliers; this was less than the state’s average by 0.78%, and a slightly higher than the national average by 0.17%. The pulmonology category showed that 15.42% of their total discharges were LOS outliers. This category saw a significantly higher difference in both state and national averages by 1.69% and 3.96%.
Huntsville Hospital, a non-profit facility, was the top discharging hospital for Medicare inpatient discharges in Alabama, according to relevant Dexur data. It is the second largest hospital in the state and serves as a major referral hospital and trauma center for patients from northern Alabama and southern Tennessee. The vast patient population could suggest a higher count of LOS outliers. The hospital treats and cares for an array of patients with all different kinds of conditions. When the condition is not present on admission, the doctors need more time to first locate the issue and then move forward from there; LOS outliers could stem from this.
| Category | Total Hospital Discharges | Total Hospital LOS Outliers | % of Hospital LOS Outliers | % of State LOS Outliers | % of National LOS Outliers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Inpatient | 16,639 | 2,298 | 13.81% | 13.22% | 11.98% |
| Cardiovascular | 3,798 | 515 | 13.56% | 12.81% | 11.75% |
| Orthopedic | 2,189 | 229 | 10.46% | 11.24% | 10.29% |
| Pulmonology | 1.790 | 276 | 15.42% | 13.73% | 11.47% |
DEXUR PRO MEMBERS GET ACCESS TO:
- Total discharges from Medicare inpatients, total LOS outliers and percentage of LOS outliers for all Huntsville Hospital categories
- Total percentage of LOS outliers for each hospital category at a state and national level
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