Regional Variation in Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes
Reistetter T, Karmarkar A, Graham J, Eschbach, K, Kuo YF, Granger C, Freeman J, & Ottenbacher K (2014) Regional Variation in Stroke Rehabilitation Outcomes, Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, 95(1), 29-38.
Abstract
Objective: To examine and describe regional variation in outcomes for persons with stroke receiving inpatient medical rehabilitation.
Design: Retrospective cohort design. Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation units and facilities contributing to the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from the United States.
Participants: Patients (NZ143,036) with stroke discharged from inpatient rehabilitation during 2006 and 2007.
Interventions: Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures: Community discharge, length of stay (LOS), and discharge functional status ratings (motor, cognitive) across 10 geographic service regions defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Results: Approximately 71% of the sample was discharged to the community. After adjusting for covariates, the percentage discharged to the community varied from 79.1% in the Southwest (CMS region 9) to 59.4% in the Northeast (CMS region 2). Adjusted LOS varied by 2.1 days, with CMS region 1 having the longest LOS at 18.3 days and CMS regions 5 and 9 having the shortest at 16.2 days.
Conclusions: Rehabilitation outcomes for persons with stroke varied across CMS regions. Substantial variation in discharge destination and LOS remained after adjusting for demographic and clinical characteristics.