02333cam a2200433 i 4500 rnd000000000047765 RAND 920212s1990 cau b 000 0 eng d 91142979 0833010794 RAND/R-3940-HCFA (Sirsi) a188988 $20.00 CstmoR CstmoR n-us--- RA981.A2 W55 1990 Witsberger, Christina. author. Recent trends in length of stay for Medicare surgical patients / Christina Witsberger, Gerald Kominski. Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 1990. xii, 52 pages ; 23 cm text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia unmediated n rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier volume nc rdacarrier "August 1990." Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-52). Hospital length of stay declined steadily during the 1970s, then rapidly during the early years of the Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS). This study examines these trends in hospital length of stay for Medicare patients between 1979 and 1987 for all cases combined, for medical and surgical cases separately, for different geographic regions, for surgical procedures grouped according to organ system, and for the highest-volume surgical procedures. The rate of decline in length of stay varied across procedures but was relatively uniform across geographic regions during this period. The mix of surgical procedures performed on an inpatient basis changed substantially, primarily because of changing technology and greater use of outpatient surgery. Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format. Description based on print version record. Aged Hospital care United States Statistics. Aged Surgery United States Statistics. Hospital utilization Length of stay United States Statistics. Medicare Statistics. United States Statistics, Medical. Kominski, Gerald F. author. Rand Corporation. United States. Health Care Financing Administration. Online Access http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3940/ 599529 599529