13% of Discharges with Cardiac Arrhythmias are Not Present on Admission at Forrest County General Hospital - the 2nd Highest Medicare Volume Hospital in Mississippi
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By: Emily Carpintero Jan. 10, 2018
Reviewing a recent analysis by Dexur of CMS Medicare claims data for 2016, it showed that at Forrest General Hospital, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the top condition not present on admission (POA) associated with length of stay (LOS) outliers was cardiac arrhythmias, with a total of 215 excess days from LOS outliers. Dexur analyzed total Medicare inpatient discharges, total LOS outliers from discharges, and the total excess days from LOS outliers for every condition. LOS outliers are patients that exceed the average length of stay for a specific DRG-code. LOS outliers from conditions not present on admission are a significant metric that healthcare professionals utilize to proactively and efficiently provide patients with the care they need while minimizing hospital usage.
According to Dexur data, the top three conditions not present upon admission were cardiac arrhythmias, respiratory failure and anemia and acute posthemorrhagic anemia. 549 of cardiac arrhythmias discharges did not present the condition upon admission. Of the 549 discharges, 56 discharges were LOS outliers. The 56 LOS outliers accounted for 215 excess hospital days. The second most discharged condition that was not present upon admission was respiratory failure, with a total of 418 discharges. 18.18% of these discharges were LOS outliers, which accounted for 382 excess hospitalized days at Forrest County General Hospital. Anemia and acute posthemorrhagic anemia was the third highest discharged condition not present upon admission, with 372 total inpatients in this category; 18.55% of these discharges extended past average LOS, accounting for 273 of excess hospitalized days.
Forrest County General Hospital provides comprehensive cardiovascular care in Southern Mississippi; they’ve started a program called The Cardiac STEMI Network which allows all clinics, in the 19 counties the hospital serves, to enroll in the network so that given any cardiac emergencies or major complications that may arise, they can quickly transfer patients over to Forrest County General Hospital. They treat a multitude of cardiac conditions, and offer diagnostic testing and screening upon admission to catch any unforeseen conditions not immediately present upon admission.
| Condition | Total Discharges with Condition not POA | Total LOS Discharge Outliers with Condition not POA | % of LOS Outlier Discharges with Condition not POA | Excess Days from LOS Outliers with Condition not POA | Excess LOS as a % of Total Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiac Arrhythmias | 549 | 56 | 10.20% | 215 | 0.41% |
| Respiratory Failure | 418 | 76 | 18.18% | 382 | 0.73% |
| Anemia & Acute Posthemorrhagic Anemia | 372 | 69 | 18.55% | 273 | 0.52% |
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- Medicare data regarding total discharges, LOS outliers from discharge, percent of LOS discharges that are LOS outliers, excess days from LOS outliers and the percent of excess LOS from total days of hospitalization from Forrest County General Hospital
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