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Potential Economic Impact of Hospital-Acquired Infections in Uninsured Patients: A Preliminary Investigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Jess Thompson ,
Julie Jefferson  and
Leonard A. Mermel
Jess Thompson
Affiliation:
Program in Public Health, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
Julie Jefferson
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island Department of Epidemiology and Infection Control, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
Leonard A. Mermel*
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Providence, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Rhode Island Department of Epidemiology and Infection Control, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island
*
Division of Infectious Diseases, Rhode Island Hospital, 593 Eddy St., Providence, RI 02903 (lmermel@lifespan.org)
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Abstract

We studied uninsured patients admitted to Rhode Island Hospital from January 1 through June 30, 2005, and from January 1 through June 30, 2006. The mean total hospital charge for an uninsured patient with a hospital-acquired infection was $18,487; for those without such an infection, it was $4,951 (P < .001). Multivariable linear regression revealed that a hospital-acquired infection accounted for 11.8 excess hospital days (P = .001). Length of stay was the only independent variable associated with total excess hospital charges.

Type
Concise Communication
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 29 , Issue 8 , August 2008 , pp. 764 - 766
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 2008

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