Hospitals that rely heavily on low reimbursements from Medicaid may be linked to worse outcomes for hospitalized children, according to research published in the Health Services Research Journal.
For this study, researchers from the University of South Florida analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals. Collective data included 985,896 pediatric discharges from more than 1,000 community hospitals from 2005 to 2007.
Pediatric patients at hospitals that are more dependent on Medicaid and have higher levels of pediatric discharges are more likely to experience an adverse event than children at other types of hospitals. In addition, children under Medicaid were more likely to experience an adverse event than privately insured children. The researchers suggested establishing policies to account for these differences so as to prevent adverse events.
For this study, researchers from the University of South Florida analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project and the American Hospital Association's Annual Survey of Hospitals. Collective data included 985,896 pediatric discharges from more than 1,000 community hospitals from 2005 to 2007.
Pediatric patients at hospitals that are more dependent on Medicaid and have higher levels of pediatric discharges are more likely to experience an adverse event than children at other types of hospitals. In addition, children under Medicaid were more likely to experience an adverse event than privately insured children. The researchers suggested establishing policies to account for these differences so as to prevent adverse events.
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