Study of the costs of care of critically ill adults

The Foundation's Program on the Care of Critically Ill Hospitalized Adults (SUPPORT) was designed to support a national collaborative effort aimed at enabling physicians and their critically ill adult patients to determine appropriate clinical management strategies based on predicted outcomes and on the values and preferences of patients and families.This project will develop estimates of the total costs of care of patients participating in this Foundation program. It is anticipated this information will indicate whether total costs differ according to the intensity of care provided, and if so, whether these cost differences are associated with differences in the quality of life achieved. The investigator will: (1) collect hospital cost data from the five participating hospitals (using two approaches to cost measurement and one measure of resource utilization); (2) develop estimates of post-discharge costs, by adding items to the larger study's questionnaire on use of major services (such as nursing homes, home care, hospice, and extent of family care giving) and by collecting information on charges from service providers; (3) determine total cost estimates; and (4) merge total cost data with program data on prognosis, intensity of care rendered, and quality of life achieved, to analyze cost effectiveness of the care provided. The project will contribute to an improved understanding of the cost-effectiveness of various approaches to critical care management; and may be useful in encouraging hospitals to implement improved processes for clinical decision-making for critically ill patients.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $391,190.00

Awarded on: 10/25/1990

Time frame: 5/1/1991 - 6/30/1995

Grant Number: 16585