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Medical devices, supplies contribute increase in hospital discharge costs

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Medical devices, rather than imaging technology, may be responsible for increasing inpatient discharge costs in hospitals, according to researchers from Washington, D.C.

Nearly one-quarter of inpatient expenses related to a mean increased cost per discharge were “supplies and devices,” including artificial joints and stents, while imaging technology and other technological services comprised only 4.9% of expenses, according to a study in Health Services Research.

“One of the take-away messages for hospitals is that they should examine their own data in closer detail to explore the costs that are rapidly rising and have a better understanding for the underlying reasons,” Jared L. Maeda, PhD, from Truven Health Analytics in Washington, D.C., stated in a press release.

Charges related to the intensive care unit were responsible for 17.6% of charges, while semiprivate room and board charges added an increased cost of 11.3%, according to the abstract.

Maeda and colleagues used the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Databases and Medicare Cost Reports in hospitals reporting these charges between 2001 and 2006. The database and reports were from community, non-rehabilitation hospitals in nine states and accounted for 10.2 million discharges during the 5-year period.

Reference:

Maeda JL, Raetzman SO, Friedman BS. What hospital inpatient service contributed the most to the 2001-2006 growth in the cost per case? Health Serv Res. Published online ahead of print on Sept. 4, 2012. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01460.x.