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Study Design: A retrospective study., Objectives: To report the incremental hospital resource consumption associated with treating selected adverse events experienced by Medicare beneficiaries undergoing a two- or three-level lumbar spinal fusion., Summary of Background Data: Hospitals are increasingly at financial risk for the incremental resources consumed in treating patients experiencing adverse events because of public and private third-party payers' efforts to base hospital reimbursement on "pay for performance" measures. However, little is known about average incremental resources consumed in treating patients experiencing adverse events following lumbar spinal fusions., Methods: The 2013 fiscal year Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file was used to identify 83,658 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent two- or three vertebrae-level lumbar spinal fusion. International Classification of Diseases-9th-Clinical Modification diagnostic and procedure codes were used to identify the frequencies of nine adverse events. This study estimated both the observed and risk-adjusted incremental hospital resources consumed (cost and length of stay [LOS]) in treating Medicare beneficiaries experiencing each adverse event., Results: Overall, 17.7% of Medicare beneficiaries undergoing lumbar spinal fusion experienced at least one of the study's adverse events. Medicare beneficiaries experiencing any complication consumed significantly more hospital resources (incremental cost of $8911) and had longer LOS (incremental stays of 5.7 days). After adjusting for patient demographics and comorbid conditions, incremental cost of treating adverse events ranged from a high of $32,049 (infection) to a low of $9976 (transfusion)., Conclusion: Adverse events frequently occur and add substantially to the hospital resource costs of patients undergoing spinal fusion. Shared decision-making instruments should clearly provide these risk estimates to the patient before surgical consideration. Investment in activities that have been shown to reduce specific adverse events is warranted, and this project may allow health systems to prioritize performance improvement areas., Level of Evidence: 3.

This paper estimates the incremental hospital resource consumption associated with treating selected adverse events experienced by Medicare beneficiaries (MBs) undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). This retrospective study, using the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file, identified 174,167 MBs who underwent THA in 2013. Overall, 20.16% of MB undergoing THA experienced at least one adverse event. MB experiencing any adverse event consumed significantly higher hospital cost ($3429) and had longer length of stays (1.0 day). The risk-adjusted incremental cost of treating adverse events ranged from a high of $27,116 (pneumonia) to a low of $2626 (hemorrhage or post-operative shock requiring transfusion). Most major adverse events occurred infrequently, however when adverse events occurred, they add substantially to the hospital resource costs of treating MB., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This paper estimates the incremental hospital resource consumption associated with treating selected adverse events experienced by Medicare beneficiaries undergoing TKA. This retrospective study, using the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review file, identified 353,650 Medicare beneficiaries who underwent a primary TKA during 2011. Overall, 11.82% of Medicare beneficiaries (MBs) undergoing TKA experienced at least one of the study's adverse events. MBs experiencing any adverse event consumed significantly more unadjusted hospital resources ($3110 cost) and had longer stays (1.3 days). The risk-adjusting incremental cost of treating adverse events ranged between $30,902 (pneumonia) and $2167 (hemorrhage or post-operative shock requiring transfusion). Most major adverse events occur infrequently; however when an adverse event occurs following TKA, it adds substantially to hospital costs., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Numerous studies have examined racial and ethnic differences in access to and utilization of health services. However, few studies have addressed these issues with respect to children with special health care needs. This study examines whether disparities in access and utilization are present among black, white, and Hispanic children identified as having special health care needs., Methods: We analyzed data on 57 553 children younger than 18 years old included in the 1994-95 National Health Interview Survey on Disability. Of these, 10 169, or 17.7% of the sample, were identified as having an existing special health care need. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess how race and ethnicity are related to measures of access and utilization, such as usual source of care, missed care, and use of physician and hospital services., Results: Our analyses show that among children with special health care needs, minorities were more likely than white children to be without health insurance coverage (13.2% vs 10.3%; P <.01), to be without usual source of care (6.7% vs 4.3%; P <.01), and to report inability to get needed medical care (3.9% vs 2.8%; P <.05). Also, white children with special health care needs were more likely than their minority counterparts to have used physician services (88.6 vs 85.0; P <.01); however, minority children with special health care needs were more likely to have been hospitalized during the past year (7.6% vs 6.3%; P < 0.5). After adjustments for confounding variables (income, insurance coverage, health status, and other variables), racial and ethnic differences in access and utilization were attenuated but remained significant for several measures (without a usual source of care, receipt of care outside of a doctor's office or HMO, no regular clinician, no doctor contacts in past year, and volume of doctor contacts). Gaps in access were more frequent and generally larger for Hispanic children with special health care needs., Conclusions: Our analysis indicates that access and utilization disparities remain between white and minority children with special health care needs, with Hispanic children experiencing especially disparate care.