JAMA pediatrics
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Inpatient growth and resource use in 28 children's hospitals: a longitudinal, multi-institutional study.
To compare inpatient resource use trends for healthy children and children with chronic health conditions of varying degrees of medical complexity. ⋯ Patients with a chronic condition increasingly used more resources in a group of children's hospitals than patients without a chronic condition. The greatest growth was observed in hospitalized children with chronic conditions affecting 2 or more body systems. Children's hospitals must ensure that their inpatient care systems and payment structures are equipped to meet the protean needs of this important population of children.