Trends in Opioid-related Inpatient Stays Shifted After the US Transitioned to ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Coding in 2015.

Background: Trend analyses of opioid-related inpatient stays depend on the availability of comparable data over time. In October 2015, the US transitioned diagnosis coding from International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) to ICD-10-CM, increasing from ∼14,000 to 68,000 codes. This study examines how trend analyses of inpatient stays involving opioid diagnoses were affected by the transition to ICD-10-CM.

Engagement in health and wellness: An online incentive-based program.

Increasingly, corporate health promotion programs are implementing wellness programs integrating principles of behavioral economics. Employees of a large firm were provided a customized online incentive program to design their own commitments to meet health goals. This study examines patterns of program participation and engagement in health promotion activities.

Identifying Increased Risk of Readmission and In-hospital Mortality Using Hospital Administrative Data: The AHRQ Elixhauser Comorbidity Index.

Objective: We extend the literature on comorbidity measurement by developing 2 indices, based on the Elixhauser Comorbidity measures, designed to predict 2 frequently reported health outcomes: in-hospital mortality and 30-day readmission in administrative data. The Elixhauser measures are commonly used in research as an adjustment factor to control for severity of illness.

Data Sources: We used a large analysis file built from all-payer hospital administrative data in the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases from 18 states in 2011 and 2012.

Admissions after discharge from an emergency department for chest symptoms.

Background: Often patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with chest symptoms return to the hospital within 30 days with the same or closely related symptoms and are admitted, raising questions about quality of care, timeliness of diagnosis, and patient safety. This study examined the frequency of and patient characteristics associated with subsequent inpatient admissions for related symptoms after discharge from an ED for chest symptoms.

Methods: We used data from the 2012 and 2013 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases (SID) and State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) from eight states to identify over 1.

Understanding Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Postsurgical Complications Occurring in U.S. Hospitals.

Objective: To examine the role of patient, hospital, and community characteristics on racial and ethnic disparities in in-hospital postsurgical complications.

Data Sources: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, 2011 State Inpatient Databases; American Hospital Association Annual Survey of Hospitals; Area Health Resources Files; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Hospital Compare database.

Methods: Nonlinear hierarchical modeling was conducted to examine the odds of patients experiencing any in-hospital postsurgical complication, as defined by Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Indicators.

Length of stay in EDs: variation across classifications of clinical condition and patient discharge disposition.

Study Objective: Duration of a stay in an emergency department (ED) is considered a measure of quality, but current measures average lengths of stay across all conditions. Previous research on ED length of stay has been limited to a single condition or a few hospitals. We use a census of one state's data to measure length of ED stays by patients' conditions and dispositions and explore differences between means and medians as quality metrics.

Cost comparison between uterine-sparing fibroid treatments one year following treatment.

Background: To compare one-year all-cause and uterine fibroid (UF)-related direct costs in patients treated with one of the following three uterine-sparing procedures: magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS), uterine artery embolization (UAE) and myomectomy.

Methods: This retrospective observational cohort study used healthcare claims for several million individuals with healthcare coverage from employers in the MarketScan Database for the period 2003-2010. UF patients aged 25-54 on their first UF procedure (index) date with 366-day baseline experience, 366-day follow-up period, continuous health plan enrollment during baseline and follow-up, and absence of any baseline UF procedures were included in the final sample.