Cost-effectiveness of treating incontinence in severely mobility-impaired long term care residents

Abstract

Severely mobility-impaired residents in long term care facilities are usually incontinent. The incontinence and immobility predispose this group to decubitus ulcers and urinary tract infections that have been described as adding to the "consequence costs of incontinence" of $80 million per year. In this quasi-experimental study of ten subjects, a mechanical lift (Clinilift) was used with a two-hour schedule to improve incontinence. Subjects showed improvement in not only dryness but also volume of urine voided and the frequency of decubitus ulcers and UTIs. Because this incontinence treatment is labor intensive, the costs of treating incontinence increased by $2.90 over the cost of providing incontinent care. When the costs of decubitus ulcers and urinary tract infections are considered, however, the treatment savings were $13.38 per patient per day.