title: Average cost of VA rehabilitation, mental health, and long-term hospital stays.
abstract: This article describes the development of a database for the cost of inpatient rehabilitation, mental health, and long-term care stays in the Department of Veterans Affairs from fiscal year 1998 forward. Using "bedsection," which is analogous to a hospital ward, the authors categorize inpatient services into nine categories: rehabilitation, blind rehabilitation, spinal cord injury, psychiatry, substance abuse, intermediate medicine, domiciliary, psychosocial residential rehabilitation, and nursing home. For each of the nine categories, they estimated a national and a local (i.e., medical center) average per diem cost. The nursing home average per diem costs were adjusted for case mix using patient assessment information. Encounter-level costs were then calculated by multiplying the average per diem cost by the number of days of stay in the fiscal year. The national cost estimates are more reliable than the local cost estimates.
authors.affiliation: VA HSR&D Health Economics Resource Center, Stanford University, USA.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Todd H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Shuo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Paul G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Barnett
mesh_terms: D001766:Blindness / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation; D002017:Budgets; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D016208:Databases, Factual; D017050:Episode of Care; D006302:Health Services Research; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017721:Hospital Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007380:Intermediate Care Facilities / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012046:Rehabilitation / Q000191:economics*; D012114:Residential Treatment / Q000191:economics; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics / Q000534:rehabilitation; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data