Interpreting Variability in the Health Care Utilization of Children With Medical Complexity.

The prevalence of children with medical complexity (CMC) has increased in recent decades. This increase is attributable, in part, to advances in medical care that improved survival of children with chronic, congenital, or critical illnesses. These children account for a disproportionate amount of inpatient utilization. Among 6.9 million pediatric discharges in 2006, just 10.1% of pediatric admissions included children with complex chronic conditions (CCC); however, these admissions accounted for 26.1% of pediatric hospital days and 40.6% of pediatric hospital charges. Few data, however, examine variability of utilization across health care systems.