Case management: cost-effectiveness analysis in continuity of patient care of the Complex Chronic Patients Unit

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate the relationship between the costs associated with the number and days of admission before and after inclusion in the Complex Chronic Patients Unit (CCP).
Methods: A descriptive cost-effectiveness analysis was performed, with calculation of arithmetic averages and standard deviations; in addition to using the t-Student for paired samples, with the SPSS v20.0 software, for a significance level alpha <0.05. The results of the computation were obtained from the Coding Unit of the patients recruited by the case manager nurse, who survived one year of follow-up by the CCP Unit.
Results: A total of 132 CCP were recruited, with a total of 563 previous admissions, which were reduced to 204 post inclusion. The average number of admissions of the previous year was 4.27 (SD: 3.35), and it was reduced to 1.55 (SD: 1.74). On the other hand, the number of days of total hospital stay was reduced from 3,835 to 1,897 days, which is equivalent to a difference in estimated cost of 11,165,164.36 euros. The average number of days of admission before was 29.05, and it was reduced to 14.37 days, finding a statistical significance (p<0.001) between days of admission before and after.
Conclusions: Inclusion in the CCP Unit guarantees, through the leadership of the case manager nurse, a cost-effective improvement without added expenses, by optimizing already existing interlevel care resources, through the identification of CCP and their priority needs, discharge planning with reports individualized and guaranteeing contact.