David C Goodman1, Cecilia Ganduglia-Cazaban2, Luisa Franzini3, Therese A Stukel4, Jared R Wasserman5, Megan A Murphy5, Youngran Kim2, Meredith E Mowitz6, Jon E Tyson7, Julie R Doherty5, George A Little8. 1. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH; Department of Pediatrics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH. Electronic address: david.c.goodman@dartmouth.edu. 2. Department of Management, Policy & Community Health, University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX. 3. Department of Health Services Administration, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD. 4. Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 5. The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH. 6. Division of Neonatology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 7. Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX. 8. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the contribution of maternal and newborn characteristics to variation in neonatal intensive care use across regions and hospitals. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective population-based live birth cohort of newborn infants insured by Texas Medicaid in 2010-2014 with 2 subcohorts: very low birth weight (VLBW) singletons and late preterm singletons. Crude and risk-adjusted neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission rates, intensive and intermediate special care days, and imaging procedures were calculated across Neonatal Intensive Care Regions (n = 21) and hospitals (n = 100). Total Medicaid payments were calculated. RESULTS: Overall, 11.5% of live born, 91.7% of VLBW, and 37.6% of infants born late preterm were admitted to a NICU, receiving an average of 2 days, 58 days, and 5 days of special care with payments per newborn inpatient episode of $5231, $128 075, and $10 837, respectively. There was little variation across regions and hospitals in VLBW NICU admissions but marked variation for NICU admissions in late preterm newborn infants and for special care days and imaging rates in all cohorts. The variation decreased slightly after health risk adjustment. There was moderate substitution of intermediate for intensive care days across hospitals (Pearson r VLBW -0.63 P < .001; late preterm newborn -0.53 P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Across all risk groups, the variation in NICU use was poorly explained by differences in newborn illness levels and is likely to indicate varying practice styles. Although the "right" rates are uncertain, it is unlikely that all of these use patterns represent effective and efficient care.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the contribution of maternal and newborn characteristics to variation in neonatal intensive care use across regions and hospitals. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective population-based live birth cohort of newborn infants insured by Texas Medicaid in 2010-2014 with 2 subcohorts: very low birth weight (VLBW) singletons and late preterm singletons. Crude and risk-adjusted neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission rates, intensive and intermediate special care days, and imaging procedures were calculated across Neonatal Intensive Care Regions (n = 21) and hospitals (n = 100). Total Medicaid payments were calculated. RESULTS: Overall, 11.5% of live born, 91.7% of VLBW, and 37.6% of infants born late preterm were admitted to a NICU, receiving an average of 2 days, 58 days, and 5 days of special care with payments per newborn inpatient episode of $5231, $128 075, and $10 837, respectively. There was little variation across regions and hospitals in VLBW NICU admissions but marked variation for NICU admissions in late preterm newborn infants and for special care days and imaging rates in all cohorts. The variation decreased slightly after health risk adjustment. There was moderate substitution of intermediate for intensive care days across hospitals (Pearson r VLBW -0.63 P < .001; late preterm newborn -0.53 P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Across all risk groups, the variation in NICU use was poorly explained by differences in newborn illness levels and is likely to indicate varying practice styles. Although the "right" rates are uncertain, it is unlikely that all of these use patterns represent effective and efficient care.
Authors: David Dimmock; Sara Caylor; Bryce Waldman; Wendy Benson; Christina Ashburner; Jason L Carmichael; Jeanne Carroll; Elaine Cham; Shimul Chowdhury; John Cleary; Arthur D'Harlingue; A Doshi; Katarzyna Ellsworth; Carolina I Galarreta; Charlotte Hobbs; Kathleen Houtchens; Juliette Hunt; Priscilla Joe; Maries Joseph; Robert H Kaplan; Stephen F Kingsmore; Jason Knight; Aaina Kochhar; Richard G Kronick; Jolie Limon; Madelena Martin; Katherine A Rauen; Adam Schwarz; Suma P Shankar; Rosanna Spicer; Mario Augusto Rojas; Ofelia Vargas-Shiraishi; Kristen Wigby; Neda Zadeh; Lauge Farnaes Journal: Am J Hum Genet Date: 2021-06-04 Impact factor: 11.025
Authors: David P Dimmock; Michelle M Clark; Mary Gaughran; Julie A Cakici; Sara A Caylor; Christina Clarke; Michele Feddock; Shimul Chowdhury; Lisa Salz; Cynthia Cheung; Lynne M Bird; Charlotte Hobbs; Kristen Wigby; Lauge Farnaes; Cinnamon S Bloss; Stephen F Kingsmore Journal: Am J Hum Genet Date: 2020-11-05 Impact factor: 11.043