Examining Post Acute Care Relationships in an Integrated Hospital System

This project continues the analysis of Medicare beneficiary level episodes of post-acute care. RTI builds on its previously funded ASPE project by expanding the episode file to include 2006 claims. The episode definition initiates with an acute hospital stay and includes all Medicare post acute care services (e.g., long-term care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, outpatient therapy), Part B services, hospice and durable medical equipment. The analysis provides trends on transfer patterns, average payments, average readmission rates, severity of illness factors and other descriptive characteristics of Medicare post acute care users. [118 PDF pages]