Hospitalized Care for Patients with Work-Related Conditions;Rept. for 1 Jul 01-31 Dec 02

摘要

This exploratory study produced the first nationally representative statistics describing inpatient hospital care for patients with occupational injuries and illnesses covered by workers' compensation (WC) insurance. Three years (1997-1999) of hospital discharge data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample were used to estimate that approximately 209,139 hospitalizations for care of work-related conditions occurred annually, representing 0.62% of all inpatient stays. The average total charge per WC hospitalization was $14,966, compared to $11,852 for hospitalizations paid by other sources. After adjusting for age, gender, diagnostic grouping, and hospital location, inpatient hospital care for work-related conditions covered under workers' compensation was found to involve 13-24% more procedures, have a slightly longer (4%) length of stay, and take 23-54% less time from admission to administration of the principal procedure than inpatient care for comparable diagnoses paid by other sources. Inpatient care for disc and spinal disorders paid by workers' compensation had 16% higher charges than similar non-WC cases. Three-year trends showed a steady decline in the number of WC hospitalizations between 1997 and 1999 but a sharp 16% rise in total charges per WC stay. Stratification of the data showed significant variations in WC care based on patients' race, ethnicity, and family income.