|
|
Most Heart Patients Diagnosed After Admission
Up to 75 percent of patients diagnosed with congestive heart failure are only diagnosed after being admitted to the hospital with other conditions. These patients with secondary heart failure are more likely to die than patients diagnosed with primary heart failure, incurred more medical expenses and spent more time in the hospital. For the purposes of this study, secondary heart failure was defined as a patient being admitted to the hospital for another reason. Primary heart failure occurred when the patient was admitted to the hospital for their heart condition.
In all forms of heart failure, the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body's need for oxygen. The condition is generally chronic and irreversible. The study examined one year of patient records from more than 2.5 million people admitted to 350 hospitals in the United States.
The patients with secondary heart failure were twice as likely to die during their hospital stay as people with primary heart failure. In addition, they stayed in the hospital on average three days longer, and their treatment costs were about $6,000 higher on average.
The study authors speculated that the diagnosis rate for primary heart failure is so low because of the difficulty of diagnosing heart failure and insurance issues that may lead physicians to code multiple hospital admissions for congestive heart failure as something else in order to obtain reimbursement. Many insurance plans will not pay for multiple hospital admissions for heart failure within the same month.
|
|
|
