Comparison of Rehabilitation Resources and Outcomes by Functional Measurement

The purpose of this study was to determine if increased therapy intensity led to a difference in length of stay and functional outcomes of rehabilitation inpatients at a rural midwestern rehabilitation center. Development of a rational basis for rehabilitation hospital payments has become a critical issue due to legislature and policy-maker efforts to control rising health care costs. Payer focus on financial outcomes challenges rehabilitation clinicians to modify treatment techniques to produce optimal clinical outcomes as efficiently as possible. One way to address optimization and efficiency is to use outcome-based programming. Functional status measures appear to provide a basis for predicting resource use. Two potential indicators of resource use are the length of stay (LOS) and the independence of function at discharge from rehabilitation center. Thus, a retrospective study of Functional Independence Measure (FIM) subjects was conducted by comparing LOS efficiency differences of two naturally occurring groups: rehabilitation patients provided with five days of therapy (control group of 57) and those provided with five and a half days of therapy (comparison group of 88). The length of stay efficiency was calculated by dividing the FIM change by length of stay. A t-test indicated a statistically significant increase in functional outcomes with increased therapy intensity for females, persons over 65 and under 75, and persons with total knee arthroscopies (TKAs).

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - University Access Only

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Graduate Nursing

Year

1999

Author dc:creator

• Haugen, Nancy A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Barbara Heater

• therapeutics
• rehabilitation centers
• length of stay hospital utilization
• Nursing

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 1999 Nancy Haugen. All rights reserved

Language dc:language

en

Repository record dc:identifier

https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/etd/846

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:openprairie.sdstate.edu:etd-1846