Disparities in Delayed Discharge Among Patients Experiencing Homelessness

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Patients with alternate level of care (ALC) status face increased risks of adverse events and contribute to healthcare resource inefficiencies.
2

Individuals experiencing homelessness encounter unique barriers to timely hospital discharge, increasing their likelihood of ALC designation.
3

Barriers include lack of stable housing, complex medical comorbidities, and systemic factors like limited transitional housing availability.
4

Empirical data on ALC stays among hospitalized individuals facing homelessness is limited, despite documented longer overall lengths of stay.
5

This study uses linked administrative data in Ontario to compare ALC designation rates between recently homeless patients and matched comparators.

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