A quarterly publication of the Autism Research Institute
Spring, 2020 | Number 2, Volume 34
Hospitals may benefit financially by offering programs tailored to patients with intellectual disabilities, according to a new study.
Jordan Wirtz and colleagues note, “Approximately 1.2 million adults in the United States have an intellectual disability, representing 0.5% of the population 15 years or older. Although they make up a small portion of the U.S. population, those with intellectual disabilities have complex needs that stem from having limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors.” In addition, they note, these individuals often have unidentified health problems.
However, the researchers say, “The majority of healthcare providers… receive little information, either during their clinical training or on the job, about how to ensure that the needs of patients with intellectual disabilities are met.”
Currently, some hospitals do offer programs that help meet the needs of patients with intellectual disabilities. These programs include specialized staff education, the use of patient coordinators, community outreach, and/or the use of care plans tailored to individuals with intellectual disabilities.
To determine whether such programs are cost-effective, Wirtz and colleagues analyzed data for patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of intellectual disability and/or autism from five different hospitals. Two of the hospitals offered programs tailored to patients with intellectual disabilities and three did not.
The researchers found that “individuals treated at hospitals with programs tailored to patients with intellectual disabilities had significantly lower total costs than patients treated in hospitals without tailored programs,” although they had similar readmission rates and lengths of stay. They add that while care at hospitals with tailored programs was more expensive in some analyses, these programs “were associated with lower total cost and cost per day after controlling for patient demographic characteristics and clinical factors.”
They conclude, “Given that hospitals with tailored programs had lower costs overall, without increasing the risk of readmission within 30 days, hospital programs tailored to patients with intellectual disabilities are a promising approach for improving the quality and value of care.”
“Patient outcomes associated with tailored hospital programs for intellectual disabilities,” Jordan Wirtz, Sarah H. Ailey, Samuel Hohmann, and Tricia Johnson, American Journal of Managed Care, Vol. 26, No. 3, March 6, 2020 (free online). Address: Tricia Johnson, Rush University, 1700 W. Van Buren St., TOB Ste. 126B, Chicago, IL 60612, [email protected].
