Reported housing instability is linked to higher hospital admission rates for mental disorders, longer inpatient stays, and substantial healthcare costs, a recent study found.
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are social factors, such as homelessness, illiteracy, a history of childhood trauma, and joblessness or underemployment, that can affect a person’s health.
With increasing attention on population health and quality initiatives, organizations have turned their focus on SDOH and how capturing those ICD-10-CM codes impacts their patient population and their success in caring for that population.
As your middle revenue cycle works to report SDOH more accurately, a recent study is now showing what can be learned from reporting these diagnosis codes appropriately.
A recent study published in JAMA Network Open found that reported housing instability is linked to higher hospital admission rates for mental disorders, longer inpatient stays, and substantial healthcare costs.
Researchers at the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation reviewed more than 87 million hospital records for patients 18 to 99 years old using the 2017 to 2019 national inpatient sample. The researchers then screened those records for the ICD-10-CM codes related to housing instability.
The researchers then analyzed the records to determine associations between coded housing instability and reason for inpatient hospitalization, length of stay, and cost of admission.
Researchers found that housing instability was associated with higher rates of admission for mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, housing instability was significantly associated with longer hospital stays (6.7 versus 4.8 days) and high medical costs.
Between 2017 and 2019, inpatient hospitalization costs for patients with coded housing instability was $9.3 billion. These findings highlight the importance of improving tracking of housing status in healthcare and taking steps to better address the needs of patients experiencing homelessness.
Amanda Norris is the Director of Content for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
As your middle revenue cycle works to report SDOH more accurately, a recent study is showing what can be learned from reporting these diagnosis codes appropriately.
Between 2017 and 2019, inpatient hospitalization costs for patients with coded housing instability was $9.3 billion.
These findings highlight the importance of improving tracking of housing status in healthcare.