Objective: To characterize the existing critical care network in terms of the pattern of
transfers. Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, the nationwide 2005 Medicare fee-for-
service claims were used to identify the interhospital transfer of critically ill patients, defined
as instances where patients used critical care services in 2 temporally adjacent
hospitalizations. Measurements: We measured the characteristics of the interhospital
transfer network and the extent to which intensive care unit patients are referred to each …

Methods: All 1993 Medicare claims were examined for the 576 acute care hospitals in the
Mid-Atlantic region (PA, DE, NJ, NY, CT). Critical care transfers were defined as occurring
when claims were filed for a patient from 2 distinct hospitals on consecutive days, and both
claims indicated the use of critical care. Results: There were 481,183 hospitalizations
involving critical care during 1993 in the region. Of the 576 hospitals, 550 had at least 1
claim for 1 day of ICU. 18,598 critical care transfers were observed among 542 of the 550 …