Utilization of Outpatient Social Work Services Among Veterans with Combat-Related Polytrauma: A Review and Case Analysis

Abstract

We examined outpatient social work service utilization and associated costs among patients with combat-related polytrauma who received services at a veterans’ hospital in the southeast United States between 2007 and June 2011. This is a retrospective cohort study of a purposive sample of 265 service recipients using secondary data extracted from the Veterans Health Administration Medical SAS Outpatient and CPRS databases. Combat-related veterans (n = 265) with polytrauma had a total of 10,437 outpatient social work service encounters and received 91 different outpatient social work service procedures, providing a total number of 8,564 outpatient social work service procedures. The highest frequencies for procedural and diagnostic coding are “unspecified.” The provision of social work services needs to be studied to maximize efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and the quality of care being provided to veterans with combat-related polytrauma. Research studying the role of social work case management in the continuum of care is limited and warranted expansion.

Keywords:

• Polytrauma
• veterans
• combat
• social work
• VAMC
• case management

Notes

1 The content of the entire first paragraph in this subsection describing the Polytrauma System of Care was retrieved from the VA Polytrauma System of Care webpages, which can be found at http://www.polytrauma.va.gov/system-of-care/