International medical travelers, length of stay, and the continuum of care: inquiry and comparison.

Purpose: In this study, we assess whether length of stay (LOS) is associated with patient geographic origin and whether payment source for international patients explains differences in LOS.

Methods: We used a retrospective case-control study to compare inbound international patients coming to the United States and domestic patients, who were admitted to academic medical centers (AMCs) between October 2005 and September 2008. International patients were matched to domestic patients on the basis of age, gender, AMC, admission status, severity of illness (SOI), and Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Group.