142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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303831
Resource Utilization Associated with Pediatric Cancer Hospitalizations in Nebraska, 2000-2011

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Li-Wu Chen, PhD , College of Public Health, Department of Health Services Research and Administration, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Anh Nguyen, MSPH , College of Public Health - Department of Health Services Research & Administration, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Wanqing Zhang, PhD , HSRA, College of Public Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha
Ming Qu, PhD. , Division of Public Health, Nebraska Dept. of Health and Human Services, Lincoln, NE
Pediatric cancer related hospital stays are costly and lead to a significant health care system burden. Using 2000 to 2011 data from the Nebraska Cancer Registry and Nebraska Hospital Discharge Database, we described the patterns of pediatric cancer hospitalizations as well as examined the association between patient characteristics (socio-demographic and clinical) and hospital resource utilization. Our study suggested that 1,284 pediatric cancer patients accounted for 6,066 total inpatient hospitalizations, 66,023 outpatient visits, and more than $610 million aggregate total charges in Nebraska during this 12-year period. Leukemia was the most expensive pediatric cancer to treat (with an average length of stay of 8.8 days and a mean charge of $44,103), followed by cancers of the brain and central nervous system. More than one-third of Nebraska children hospitalized with cancer were younger than 5 years. Our regression analyses suggested that Medicaid pediatric cancer patients were more likely to have an emergency department visit (p < 0.05). Medicaid pediatric cancer patients also had between 16.6 to 26.2 percent higher inpatient hospital charges as compared to their commercially insured counterparts (p < 0.05). The results highlight the importance for policy makers to re-examine the current payment policy, benefit coverage, and care delivery for Medicaid pediatric cancer patients. Modifications may be needed in order to improve the quality and reduce the cost for delivering care to Medicaid pediatric cancer patients. Additionally, the data linkage of cancer registry and hospital discharge demonstrated a great potential of enhancing cancer research to better inform policy makers.

Learning Areas:

Administration, management, leadership

Learning Objectives:
Describe the association between pediatric cancer patient characteristics and hospital resource utilization.

Keyword(s): Cancer, Utilization

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator for this study which focuses on the hospital resource utilization of pediatric cancer patients. My scientific interests include the utilization of health care services.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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