Arch Pediat Adol Med
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Arch Pediat Adol Med · Feb 1999
The influence of chronic disease on resource utilization in common acute pediatric conditions. Financial concerns for children's hospitals.
To estimate the resource utilization in hospitalizations for common pediatric conditions or procedures involving patients with chronic disease vs those with no chronic disease and to develop an economic model of hospital per-patient profit (or loss) when insurance contracts fail to account for the presence of chronic disease. ⋯ Length of stay and charges are higher for everyday pediatric conditions or procedures when patients also have a chronic disease. If insurance contracts fail to account for chronic disease, then children's hospitals will realize significant financial losses, and over time this will lead to a decline in their financial viability, a reduction in quality, or a change in their mission.