Abstract
Objective: Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) and Horizon Hospice opened the first centralized inpatient hospice unit (CIPU) in a Chicago academic medical center in 2012. This study examined if there was a difference in cost or length of stay (LOS) in a CIPU compared to hospice care in scattered beds throughout RUMC. Study Design and Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study compared cost and LOS for patients admitted to the CIPU (n = 141) and those admitted to hospice scattered beds (SBM) throughout RUMC (n = 56). Results: The CIPU patients had a median LOS of 6.0 days versus 2.0 days for SBM patients. Conclusions: The CIPU patients had longer hospice LOS but lower hospital costs. Academic medical centers may benefit from aggregating hospice beds.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 755-759 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 1 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- academic hospital
- costs
- inpatient hospice unit
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine