title: Rural inpatient rehabilitation by specialist outreach: comparison with a city unit.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effectiveness of a rural inpatient rehabilitation service provided by specialist outreach, and to compare outcomes with a large inner city unit.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive study using health service outcome data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rural base hospital and inner city tertiary referral centre.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 329 patients (234 city and 95 rural) admitted for inpatient rehabilitation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Length of hospital stay, Functional Independence Measure, discharge destination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Functional Independence Measure gain per week was 5.4 for the rural outreach unit, compared with 5.5 for the city unit. Length of stay was shorter for the rural unit, with a higher proportion of patients discharged to nursing home.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Similar rates of functional improvement are achievable with rural inpatient rehabilitation provided by specialist outreach compared with a large inner city unit. Local factors probably account for the shorter length of stay in the rural unit.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia. mbowman@stvincents.com.au
authors.forename: Malcolm
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bowman
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Faux
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D019035:Rural Health Services; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D019037:Urban Health Services