Open AccessUltrafiltration for Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: Cost, Reimbursement, and Financial Impact
Author(s) -
Ross Edward A.,
Bellamy Frank B.,
Hawig Scott,
Kazory Amir
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.20913
Subject(s) - medicine , reimbursement , extracorporeal , intensive care unit , intensive care medicine , population , finance , medical emergency , health care , surgery , business , economic growth , environmental health , economics
In addition to the proposed pathophysiologic mechanisms whereby ultrafiltration (UF) can be advantageous over diuretics in the treatment of heart failure, there can also be financial and resource‐utilization reasons for pursuing this extracorporeal strategy. In those cases in which the clinical outcomes would be equivalent, however, the decision whether to pursue UF will depend greatly on the anticipated hospitalization length of stay (LOS), the patient population's payor mix, the needs and costs for high‐acuity (eg, intensive care unit) care, and widely varying expenses for the equipment and disposable supplies. From a fiscal perspective, the financial viability of UF programs revolves around how improvements in LOS, resource utilization, and readmissions relate to the typical diagnosis‐driven (eg, diagnosis‐related group) reimbursement. We analyzed the impact of these various factors so as to better understand how the intensity (and expense) of pharmaceutical and extracorporeal therapies impacts a single admission, as well as to serve as the basis for developing strategies for optimizing long‐term care. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The authors have no funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.