Abstract
Economic issues threaten the development of a national trauma system. Much work has focused on the cost of trauma care; little has been done to define society’s long-term economic return. We asked three questions about high cost trauma patients: (1) Do they survive?, (2) Do they continue to require expensive care?, and (3) Do they return to productivity? Of 6,129 consecutive trauma admissions, 114 had hospital charges over $100,000 (x = $143,000), 102 (89.5%) were discharged alive, and 10 (8.8%) were lost to followup. Ninety-two patients or families were interviewed at least 1 year (x = 2.6 year) after discharge. There were 88 survivors and 4 deaths (3.5%). Of the 88 survivors 737c had no limitation of ADLs, 67% received rehabilitation, 58% were still improving, and 37% were involved in litigation. Five survivors (5.7%) were confined to a nursing home, 48 (54.5%) had returned to productivity (RTP), 35 (39.8%) were unemployed, and five of these still require medical therapy. We conclude: (1) The majority of high cost patients survive (89.5%) and return to productivity (54.5%); (2) the severity of injury predicts survival but not return to productivity; and (3) the RTP rate may be increased by addressing nonmedical need.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 827-834 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Trauma - Injury, Infection and Critical Care |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| State | Published - 1991 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine
- Surgery
Cite this
Trauma patients return to productivity. / Morris, John A.; Sanchez, Anthony A.; Bass, Sue M.; Mackenzie, Ellen J.
In: Journal of Trauma - Injury, Infection and Critical Care, Vol. 31, No. 6, 1991, p. 827-834.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Trauma patients return to productivity
AU - Morris, John A.
AU - Sanchez, Anthony A.
AU - Bass, Sue M.
AU - Mackenzie, Ellen J
PY - 1991
Y1 - 1991
N2 - Economic issues threaten the development of a national trauma system. Much work has focused on the cost of trauma care; little has been done to define society’s long-term economic return. We asked three questions about high cost trauma patients: (1) Do they survive?, (2) Do they continue to require expensive care?, and (3) Do they return to productivity? Of 6,129 consecutive trauma admissions, 114 had hospital charges over $100,000 (x = $143,000), 102 (89.5%) were discharged alive, and 10 (8.8%) were lost to followup. Ninety-two patients or families were interviewed at least 1 year (x = 2.6 year) after discharge. There were 88 survivors and 4 deaths (3.5%). Of the 88 survivors 737c had no limitation of ADLs, 67% received rehabilitation, 58% were still improving, and 37% were involved in litigation. Five survivors (5.7%) were confined to a nursing home, 48 (54.5%) had returned to productivity (RTP), 35 (39.8%) were unemployed, and five of these still require medical therapy. We conclude: (1) The majority of high cost patients survive (89.5%) and return to productivity (54.5%); (2) the severity of injury predicts survival but not return to productivity; and (3) the RTP rate may be increased by addressing nonmedical need.
AB - Economic issues threaten the development of a national trauma system. Much work has focused on the cost of trauma care; little has been done to define society’s long-term economic return. We asked three questions about high cost trauma patients: (1) Do they survive?, (2) Do they continue to require expensive care?, and (3) Do they return to productivity? Of 6,129 consecutive trauma admissions, 114 had hospital charges over $100,000 (x = $143,000), 102 (89.5%) were discharged alive, and 10 (8.8%) were lost to followup. Ninety-two patients or families were interviewed at least 1 year (x = 2.6 year) after discharge. There were 88 survivors and 4 deaths (3.5%). Of the 88 survivors 737c had no limitation of ADLs, 67% received rehabilitation, 58% were still improving, and 37% were involved in litigation. Five survivors (5.7%) were confined to a nursing home, 48 (54.5%) had returned to productivity (RTP), 35 (39.8%) were unemployed, and five of these still require medical therapy. We conclude: (1) The majority of high cost patients survive (89.5%) and return to productivity (54.5%); (2) the severity of injury predicts survival but not return to productivity; and (3) the RTP rate may be increased by addressing nonmedical need.
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M3 - Article
C2 - 2056547
AN - SCOPUS:0026041950
VL - 31
SP - 827
EP - 834
JO - Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
JF - Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
SN - 2163-0755
IS - 6
ER -