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USING A CLAIMS-BASED FRAILTY INDEX TO INVESTIGATE FRAILTY, SURVIVAL, AND HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURES AMONG OLDER ADULTS HOSPITALIZED FOR COVID-19 AT AN ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTER

T. Keeney, M. Flom, J. Ding, M. Sy, K. Leung, D.H. Kim, J. Orav, C. Vogeli, C.S. Ritchie

J Frailty Aging 2023;12(2)150-154

Background: Frailty is associated with mortality in older adults hospitalized with COVID-19, yet few studies have quantified healthcare utilization and spending following COVID-19 hospitalization. Objective: To evaluate whether survival and follow-up healthcare utilization and expenditures varied as a function of claims-based frailty status for older adults hospitalized with COVID-19. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Participants: 136 patients aged 65 and older enrolled in an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) risk contract at an academic medical center and hospitalized for COVID-19 between March 11, 2020 – June 3, 2020. Measurements: We linked a COVID-19 Registry with administrative claims data to quantify a frailty index and its relationship to mortality, healthcare utilization, and expenditures over 6 months following hospital discharge. Kaplan Meier curves and Cox Proportional Hazards models were used to evaluate survival by frailty. Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to compare utilization. A generalized linear model with a gamma distribution was used to evaluate differences in monthly Medicare expenditures. Results: Much of the cohort was classified as moderate to severely frail (65.4%), 24.3% mildly frail, and 10.3% robust or pre-frail. Overall, 27.2% (n=37) of the cohort died (n=26 during hospitalization, n=11 after discharge) and survival did not significantly differ by frailty. Among survivors, inpatient hospitalizations during the 6-month follow-up period varied significantly by frailty (p=0.02). Mean cost over follow-up was $856.37 for the mild and $4914.16 for the moderate to severe frailty group, and monthly expenditures increased with higher frailty classification (p <.001). Conclusions: In this cohort, claims-based frailty was not significantly associated with survival but was associated with follow-up hospitalizations and Medicare expenditures.

CITATION:
T. Keeney ; M. Flom ; J. Ding ; M. Sy ; K. Leung ; D.H. Kim ; J. Orav ; C. Vogeli ; C.S. Ritchie (2023): Using a Claims-Based Frailty Index to Investigate Frailty, Survival, and Healthcare Expenditures among Older Adults Hospitalized for COVID-19 at an Academic Medical Center. The Journal of Frailty and Aging (JFA). http://dx.doi.org/10.14283/jfa.2023.15

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