Trends in sepsis and pneumonia during COVID-19: lessons from BPCIA

The COVID-19 pandemic affected care delivery nationwide for all patients, influencing cost and utilization for patients both with and without COVID-19. Our first analysis assessed changes in utilization for patients with sepsis without COVID-19 prior to vs during the pandemic. Our second analysis assessed cost and utilization changes during the pandemic for patients with sepsis or pneumonia both with and without COVID-19.

A retrospective case-control study was utilized to determine differences in cost and utilization for patients with sepsis or pneumonia, relative to a COVID-19 diagnosis.

Claims data from 8 teaching hospitals participating in sepsis and pneumonia episodes in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCIA) model were utilized. BPCIA is a Medicare value-based care bundled payment program that aims to decrease costs and increase quality of care through a 90-day total cost of care model.

The first analysis (N = 1092) found that non-COVID-19 patients with sepsis had 26% higher hospice utilization (P < .05) and 38% higher mortality (P < .0001) during the pandemic vs the prepandemic period. The second analysis (N = 640) found that during the pandemic, patients with sepsis or pneumonia with COVID-19 had 70% more skilled nursing facility (SNF) use (P < .0001), 132% higher SNF costs (P < .0001), and 21% higher total episode costs (P < .0001) compared with patients without COVID-19.

COVID-19 has affected care patterns for all patients. Patients without COVID-19 postponed care and used lower-acuity care settings, whereas patients with COVID-19 were more costly and utilized postacute care at a higher rate. These analyses inform future care coordination initiatives, given the ongoing pandemic.