Effect of Hospital Ownership on Outcomes After Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation in the United States

Abstract

Background: We evaluated the effects of hospital ownership, classified into three tiers (nonfederal government, not-for-profit, and for-profit hospitals), on in-hospital outcomes after implantation of continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) in the United States from 2009 to 2014.

Methods: Data from the National Inpatient Sample were used to calculate annual national estimates in utilization, in-hospital mortality, major complications, lengths of stay, cost of hospitalization, and disposition at discharge for years 2009 to 2014. Complications were calculated using patient safety indicators and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification codes.

Results: Of the 3,571 patients (weighted, 17,547) with LVAD implants in the United States between 2009 and 2014, 82.1% were in not-for-profit hospitals, 15.6% in nonfederal government hospitals, and 2.3% in for-profit hospitals. In-hospital mortality significantly decreased over time only in not-for-profit hospitals by average annual change of -7.4% (p = 0.001) and was higher in for-profit hospitals than other tiers of hospital ownership. Our analysis did not suggest any differences in postoperative complications among different hospital ownership types. LVAD implantation in nonfederal government hospitals was associated with the highest cost ($227,930; interquartile range [IQR], $173,259 to $301,566) and implantation in for-profit hospitals was associated with lower cost ($148,406; IQR, $133,149 to $199,317; p = 0.03). The length of stay was similar across the three tiers of hospital ownership. Nonroutine discharge was significantly more frequent in not-for-profit hospitals (73.6%; IQR 69.5% to 77.7%) compared with nonfederal government (48.8%; IQR, 42.4% to 55.1%) and for-profit (59.8%; IQR, 43.0% to 76.6%) hospitals (p < 0.001).

Conclusions: Disparities in in-hospital mortality, cost, and disposition exist between various hospital ownerships during admission for LVAD implant.