Admission to hospitals with on-site cardiac catheterization facilities :impact on long-term costs and outcomes.
BACKGROUND
Admission to a hospital with a capability for cardiac procedures is associated with a higher likelihood of referral for a cardiac procedure but not with a better short-term clinical outcome. Whether there are differences in long-term mortality and resource consumption is not clear. We sought to determine whether elderly Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction admitted to hospitals with on-site cardiac catheterization facilities have lower long-term hospital costs and better outcomes than patients admitted to hospitals without such facilities.


RESULTS
As part of the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project pilot in Connecticut, we conducted a retrospective cohort study using data from medical charts and administrative files. The study sample included 2521 patients with acute myocardial infarction covered by Medicare from 1992 to 1993. The cardiac catheterization rate was higher in the hospitals with facilities (38.6% versus 26.9%; P<0.001), but the revascularization rate was similar (20.5% versus 19.5%) during the initial episode of care and at 3 years (29.7% versus 29.7%). Mortality rates were similar for patients admitted to the 2 types of hospitals at 30 days (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.42) and at 3 years (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.26). The adjusted readmission rates were significantly lower among patients admitted to hospitals with cardiac catheterization facilities (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.94). However, the overall mean days in the hospital for the 3 years after admission was 25.9 for patients admitted to hospitals with facilities and 24.6 for the other patients (P=0.234). Adjusting for baseline patient characteristics, there was no significant difference in the 3-year costs between patients admitted to the 2 types of hospitals.


CONCLUSIONS
With higher rates of cardiac catheterization and lower readmission rates, patients admitted to hospitals with on-site cardiac catheterization facilities did not have significantly different hospital costs compared with patients admitted to hospitals without these facilities. There was also no significant difference in short- or long-term mortality rates.
Krumholz
H M
HM
Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520-8025, USA. harlan.krumholz@Yale.edu
Chen
J
J
Murillo
J E
JE
Cohen
D J
DJ
Radford
M J
MJ
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015906:Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002300:Cardiac Care Facilities / Q000191:economics; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome