Rural inpatient rehabilitation by specialist outreach: comparison with a city unit.
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.
Bowman
Malcolm
M
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia. mbowman@stvincents.com.au
Faux
Steven
S
Wilson
Stephen
S
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