Patient profiles, initial hospital encounter characteristics, and hospital re-encounters of patients with a hospital emergency department visit or inpatient admission for major depressive disorder

Objectives To gain a better understanding of the characteristics of patients with a hospital encounter for major depressive disorder (MDD) and evaluate associated hospital resource utilization, hospital charges and costs, and hospital re-encounters. Methods Adult patients with a hospital encounter (i.e. emergency department [ED] visit only or inpatient admission) with MDD as the primary discharge diagnosis (index event) during July 2018-March 2019 were selected from the Premier Healthcare Database. Patient characteristics, hospital resource utilization, and hospital charges and costs were evaluated during index events. During a 12-month follow-up, hospital re-encounters (MDD-related and all-cause ED visit only or inpatient readmissions) were examined. Results The study population included 77,178 patients with an index hospital encounter (ED visit only: 49.9%; inpatient admission: 50.1%) for MDD. The most common secondary mental health-related diagnosis was suicidal ideation/behavior, which was recorded in 51.8% of patients. The mean age was 38.2 years, 53.0% were female, and 72.1% were Caucasian. Among patients with an ED visit only, the mean index hospital charges and costs were $3,608 and $639, respectively. Among those with inpatient admissions, the mean length of stay was 4.9 days, and the mean index hospital charges and costs were $17,107 and $6,095, respectively. During the 12-month follow-up, 13.3% of patients in the overall study population had an MDD-related hospital re-encounter (primary or secondary discharge diagnosis code indicating MDD); nearly one-third (31.3%) occurred within 30 days post-discharge. During the follow-up, 28.1% had an all-cause hospital re-encounter with 29.7% having occurred within 30 days post-discharge. Limitations Due to constraints of the Premier Healthcare Database, healthcare resource utilization and costs outside of the hospital could not be evaluated. Conclusions Patients with a hospital encounter for MDD are relatively young, commonly have suicidal ideation/behavior, utilize substantial hospital resources, and have a high risk for a hospital re-encounter in the 30 days post-discharge.