DHSS Press Release |
Date: October 3, 2006 DHSS-90-2006 |
| Vincent P. Meconi, Secretary Jay Lynch, Communications Director (302) 255-9037, Pager (302) 247-8523 Email: jay.lynch@state.de.us |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EMERGENCIES PART OF INCREASE IN HOSPITALIZATIONS
Delaware's Division of Public Health (DPH) announces the release of Delaware's 2001-2004 Hospital Discharge Summary Report. The document contains patient demographics, how and why patients were admitted to the hospital, how patients were discharged, average charges and length of stay by diagnosis, and patient distribution.In addition, hospital and healthcare system profiles compiled by the Delaware Healthcare Association provide information on accreditation, ownership, medical staff and services.
Findings of the report include:
- Annual cesarean delivery rates in Delaware have increased significantly, from 22.9 cesareans per 100 deliveries in 1994 to 30.5 in 2004. This is similar to the national trend.
- In 2004, Delaware hospitals had shorter hospital stays, on average, than they did 10 years prior. Sixty percent of all hospitalizations had a duration of three or fewer days.
- The number of hospitalizations increased steadily over the four-year period from 2001 to 2004, rising from 100,681 in 2001 to 111,806 in 2004.
- Patients from outside of Delaware comprised 13.1 percent of all discharges in 2004, with the majority from Pennsylvania (5.1 percent), Maryland (4.5 percent), and New Jersey (2.6 percent).
- Admissions from hospital emergency departments accounted for 48 percent of all hospital admissions from 2001 to 2004; 47 percent came from physicians, and the remaining 5 percent were admitted from clinics, HMOs, or transferred from other facilities.
- 74.6 percent of uninsured admissions come from emergency department.
- The most frequent reasons for hospitalization fell under the category of diseases and disorders of the circulatory system, and include heart attack, heart disease, and stroke.
- From 2001 to 2004, an average of 11,418 women per year delivered their children in Delaware hospitals.
- The average length of stay for infants delivered by cesarean section are almost twice that of infants delivered vaginally, and
- The length of stay for infants who are part of a plural birth is three times that of single births.
Delaware's 2001-2004 Hospital Discharge Summary Report can be viewed in its entirety at: http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dhss/dph/hp/healthstats.html
Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.
