A new study published in The Spine Journal examines the insurance status and quality metrics among patients undergoing cervical fusion.
The researchers examined the Nationwide Inpatient Sample among patients 18 years or older who underwent cervical spine fusion. There were 419,424 hospitalizations for cervical fusion during an inpatient episode. The researchers found:
1. The incidence of non-traumatic hospital-acquired conditions was 0.35 percent.
2. The incidents of patient safety indicators was 1.6 percent.
3. Medicaid/self-pay patients reported greater odds of one or more hospital-acquired condition when compared with the privately insured cohort.
4. The researchers concluded the primary payer status did predict patient safety indicators and hospital-acquired conditions.
“As the U.S. healthcare system transitions to a value-based payment model, the cause of these disparities must be studied to improve the quality of care delivered to vulnerable patient populations,” concluded the study authors.