Today, nearly 30 percent of U.S. adults have multiple chronic conditions.1 These patients tend to experience longer recovery times and are more likely to readmit to the intensive care unit (ICU), depending on the care setting they are admitted to.2 This leaves hospital leaders asking what can be done to efficiently and effectively care for these patients without expending unnecessary resources and costs?
Long-term acute care hospitals (LTACHs) offer a unique benefit to a hospital’s care continuum, and when discharged from another care setting in a timely manner, can not only help reduce costs but also improve overall outcomes.
Discover three ways long-term acute care can help improve medically complex patient outcomes and how a strategic partnership can play a pivotal role in achieving these outcomes.
- Expertise in ventilator care
Efficiencies and improvements gained by early discharge to LTACHs can largely be attributed to this setting’s specialized pulmonary and ventilator care. Ventilator-supported patients, who make up more than 25 percent of LTACH admissions, receive expert treatment from a team led by pulmonologists and respiratory therapists.3
This expertise ultimately helps improve outcomes for critical pulmonary patients, leading to reduced length of stay, lower readmission risk and increased bed capacity in other care settings.
- Interdisciplinary care teams
Medically complex patients with multiple comorbidities often require a team of specialists who can address the different facets of their conditions. At an LTACH, physicians, respiratory therapists, dieticians, bedside nurses and other healthcare staff formally collaborate as an interdisciplinary care team to develop comprehensive treatment plans. This level of collaboration can help improve outcomes by reducing the risk of miscommunication, which is a primary cause of adverse events.4
- Specialized rehabilitative care
Early and comprehensive rehabilitation is also essential for patients with medically complex conditions. Rehabilitation services provided at an LTACH are led by PTs, RTs, OTs and SLPs, and are integrated with specialized acute care to help patients achieve the fastest and most complete recovery possible.
Early mobilization is especially important for pulmonary patients. One case study found that improving access of ventilated patients to pulmonary rehabilitation in an acute setting could reduce time on ventilation by two days.5
Read our white paper, “Complex Patients, Complex Treatment: Benefits of Timely Discharge to LTACHs” to learn more about the benefits of early discharge to LTACHs and how we can help your hospital achieve these outcomes.
References:
- https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2020/20_0130.htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7392362/
- https://www.medpac.gov/wp-content/uploads/import_data/scrape_fles/docs/default-source/press-releases/march-2021-medpac¬report-press-release.pdf
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4526935/
- https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201610-2076ST