Functional gains and therapy intensity during subacute rehabilitation: A study of 20 facilities

Objectives: To document patient, program characteristics, and therapy service provision in subacute rehabilitation across 3 types of facilities that provide subacute rehabilitation, to examine the determinants of therapy intensity, and to evaluate the contribution of rehabilitation services to functional gains. Design: A retrospective study linking administrative billing data and patients' functional assessment records. Setting: Twenty facilities part of the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR) subacute database Participants: A total of 1976 billing records of patients with stroke, orthopedic, and debility impairments, discharged in 1996 and 1997, were retrieved and linked with the FIM™ instrument ratings from UDSMR subacute database. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcomes Measures: Total therapy intensity and Rasch-transformed FIM domain gains (ie, gains in self-care, mobility, cognition). Results: Therapy intensity was mostly determined by impairment and facility type, although variances explained by the predictors were small. Patients in all 3 impairment groups made functional gains; gains were related weakly, although significantly, to therapy intensity and rehabilitation duration after controlling for other variables. Conclusions: The provision of rehabilitation therapies varied across facilities. Skilled nursing facilities with subacute rehabilitation units tended to provide more therapies than subacute units in acute or rehabilitation hospitals.