Economics of Trauma Informed Care | Patient Centered Care and Trauma Informed Care for Pediatric Patients

Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress

Practicing trauma informed care is often touted as a way to improve quality of care and health outcomes. But could there be economic benefits to implementing trauma informed care?

Economic benefits of trauma informed care

Results from a new study published in the November edition of Pediatrics begins to examine the economic impact of practicing trauma informed care. In the study, researchers looked at whether comorbid mental health conditions in children had an impact on length of stay and hospital costs. They found that comorbid mental health conditions were:

- Present in 13.2% of hospitalizations.

- Associated with a LOS increase of 8.8% (from 2.5 to 2.7 days, P < .001) for medical hospitalizations and a 16.9% increase (from 3.6 to 4.2 days, P < .001) for surgical hospitalizations.

- Associated with an additional 31 729 (95% confidence interval: 29 085 to 33 492) hospital days and $90 million (95% confidence interval: $81 to $101 million) in hospital costs.

The study authors conclude that “knowledge about the influence of mental health conditions on pediatric hospital utilization can inform clinical innovation and case-mix adjustment.”

In light of this new study, hospital systems and medical professionals have even more reasons to embrace trauma informed care. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to share what trauma informed care looks like in your daily practice!

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