Characteristics of Patients With Potentially Preventable and Nonpreventable Hospitalizations in 2010 and 2014
| Characteristic | 2010 Hospitalizations (N = 1,170,242 Patients) | 2014 Hospitalizations (N = 818,229 Patients) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potentially Preventable | Nonpreventable | P Value or Difference (95% CI) | Potentially Preventable | Nonpreventable | P Value or Difference (95% CI) | |
| Patients, No. (%) | 196,971 (16.8) | 973,271 (83.2) | <.001 | 128,442 (15.7) | 689,787 (84.3) | <.001 |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 80.0 (8.3) | 77.6 (7.8) | 2.4 (2.3-2.4) | 80.2 (8.5) | 77.8 (8.1) | 2.5 (2.4-2.6) |
| Sex, No. (%) | ||||||
| Male | 75,237 (38.2) | 409,605 (42.1) | <.001 | 47,581 (37.0) | 288,293 (41.8) | <.001 |
| Female | 121,734 (61.8) | 563,666 (57.9) | <.001 | 80,861 (63.00) | 401,494 (58.2) | <.001 |
| Race/ethnicity, No. (%) | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic White | 155,589 (79.0) | 812,528 (83.5) | <.001 | 102,973 (80.2) | 581,524 (84.3) | <.001 |
| Black | 22,208 (11.3) | 80,362 (8.3) | <.001 | 13,437 (10.5) | 52,833 (7.7) | <.001 |
| Hispanic | 13,761 (7.0) | 55,134 (5.7) | <.001 | 7,913 (6.2) | 32,808 (4.8) | <.001 |
| Other | 5,219 (2.7) | 24,411 (2.5) | <.001 | 3,784 (3.0) | 19,393 (2.8) | <.001 |
| Unknown/missing | 194 (0.1) | 836 (0.1) | <.001 | 335 (0.3) | 3,229 (0.5) | <.001 |
| Medicaid, No. (%) | ||||||
| No | 138,538 (70.3) | 797,885 (82.0) | <.001 | 91,324 (71.1) | 568,698 (82.5) | <.001 |
| Yes | 58,433 (29.7) | 175,386 (18.0) | <.001 | 37,118 (28.9) | 121,089 (17.6) | <.001 |
| ZIP code-level median income,a No. (%) | ||||||
| Low | 54,978 (27.9) | 232,111 (23.9) | <.001 | 36,279 (28.3) | 164,625 (23.9) | <.001 |
| Average | 93,791 (47.6) | 480,076 (49.3) | <.001 | 61,735 (48.1) | 339,375 (49.2) | <.001 |
| High | 44,091 (22.4) | 242,669 (24.9) | <.001 | 27,848 (21.7) | 172,545 (25.0) | <.001 |
| Missing | 4,111 (2.1) | 18,415 (1.9) | <.001 | 2,580 (2.0) | 13,242 (1.9) | <.001 |
| Number of prescriptions, mean (SD) | 14.4 (13.7) | 10.4 (11.0) | 4.0 (3.9-4.1) | 17.2 (14.9) | 12.7 (12.2) | 4.6 (4.4-4.7) |
| Elixhauser index, mean (SD)b | 9.1 (8.1) | 5.3 (6.9) | 3.8 (3.8-3.9) | 10.7 (8.7) | 6.8 (8.0) | 3.9 (3.9-4.0) |
| County-level health resources | ||||||
| PCPs per 1,000,c No. (%) | ||||||
| Low | 12,987 (6.6) | 57,800 (6.0) | <.001 | 9,276 (7.2) | 44,487 (6.5) | <.001 |
| Medium | 109,803 (55.8) | 532,096 (54.7) | <.001 | 71,792 (56.0) | 376,443 (54.7) | <.001 |
| High | 73,931 (37.6) | 382,137 (39.3) | <.001 | 47,173 (36.8) | 267,854 (38.9) | <.001 |
| MMC penetration, mean (SD), %d | 23.6 (14.2) | 24.3 (14.1) | –0.7(–0.7 to –0.6) | 26.9 (13.7) | 27.9 (13.5) | –0.3(–0.4 to –0.1) |
| Hospitals per 100,000,e No. (%) | ||||||
| Low | 38,533 (19.6) | 197,589 (20.3) | <.001 | 24,512 (19.1) | 139,119 (20.2) | <.001 |
| Medium | 146,6 4 5 ( 74.6) | 729,026 (75.0) | <.001 | 94,890 (74.0) | 513,130 (74.5) | <.001 |
| High | 11,542 (5.9) | 45,408 (4.7) | <.001 | 8,837 (6.9) | 36,527 (5.3) | <.001 |
MMC = Medicare Managed Care; PCP = primary care physician.
Note: Based on 20% random sample of Medicare fee-for-service claims data of included cohort of older adults with at least 1 hospitalization during 2010 or 2014.
↵a Low: <25th percentile; Medium: 25th-75th percentile; High: >75th percentile.
↵b Possible index scores range from 0 (lower disease burden) to 31 (higher disease burden).
↵c Low: <25th percentile (≤0.49 per 1,000); Medium: 25th-75th percentile (0.49-1.04 per 1,000); High: >75th percentile (>1.04 per 1,000).
↵d Percentage of Medicare-eligible patients who chose a Medicare Advantage plan (as opposed to fee for service).
↵e Low: <25th percentile (≤0.996 per 100,000); Medium: 25th-75th percentile (0.996-6.17 per 100,000); High: >75th percentile (>6.17 per 100,000).