Use of outcomes information in acute inpatient rehabilitation

Abstract

Objective: To describe the ways in which rehabilitation outcomes information is used in the acute inpatient rehabilitation industry and the industry's views on the topic of public disclosure of rehabilitation outcomes information.

Design: A mixed-methods approach, featuring data from 39 informational telephone interviews with rehabilitation industry stakeholders followed by a survey of 95 randomly sampled acute inpatient rehabilitation provider organizations.

Results: Both the informational interviews and survey findings revealed that there is currently little stakeholder demand for functional outcomes information. Outcomes information is primarily used within provider organizations to track the effectiveness of rehabilitation services. There is general consensus among rehabilitation provider organizations in favor of public disclosure of outcomes information.

Conclusions: Outcomes information is not routinely shared with rehabilitation stakeholders (i.e., payers and consumers). Rehabilitation providers and industry stakeholders generally express favorable attitudes toward public disclosure of outcomes information. Stakeholders' perceptions of current barriers and facilitators of outcomes information provide insight into the steps that can be taken toward greater transparency in the rehabilitation industry.