Dive Brief:
- According to a new study published in JAMA Surgery, critical access hospitals have higher rates of transfers after surgery.
- To examine this issue, researchers used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and the American Hospital Association to look at patients undergoing six common surgical procedures, according to Fierce Healthcare.
- After analyzing the data, researchers found that a larger proportion of patients from the 1,283 CAHs were transferred to another hospital.
Dive Insight:
Because CAHs are exempt from Medicare's Prospective Payment System, Fierce Healthcare notes, there's a growing interest in the quality and cost of care at these hospitals, according to the study's authors. The study's results should have an impact on ongoing deliberations regarding CAH payment policy and the implications of such policy for health care delivery in rural communities, the authors wrote.