One-Third of Child Hospitalizations Could Be Prevented Through Outpatient, Preventive Care Services, Study Says
Between 13% and 46% of children's hospitalizations may be avoidable with proper home care or primary physician treatment, according to a study published Monday in Pediatrics, USA Today reports. Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and Boston University surveyed the physicians and parents of 554 children admitted to Boston Medical Center over 14 months (Eaton, USA Today, 11/3). Most of the children were from low-income households, were not white and either received public health insurance or were uninsured. The researchers found that about 33% of hospitalizations for asthma, dehydration, gastroenteritis, pneumonia, seizures and skin infections could have been avoided with proper preventive or outpatient care. Dr. Glenn Flores, a pediatrician at the Medical College of Wisconsin who led the study, said many hospitalizations could be prevented by better educating parents about their children's conditions, medications, the need for follow-up care and the importance of understanding symptoms that might lead to hospital care if they are not treated (Lasalandra, Boston Herald, 11/3). Parents should also learn how environmental factors, including dust or cigarette smoke, can trigger health problems such as allergies or asthma, the researchers said (USA Today, 11/3). Flores said that states with limited public health budgets might be able to avoid cuts in health programs if they helped prevent unnecessary hospital stays, adding that hospitalizations account for 58% of spending on children's health care. According to the study, preventing unnecessary hospital stays could save $17 billion annually (Boston Herald, 11/3).
An abstract of the study is available online.
