IRF

also known as: Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) provide intensive, multidisciplinary rehabilitation for patients with conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, hip fracture, major joint replacement, or amputation. Federal regulation requires that ≥60% of IRF admissions match one of 13 specified conditions. IRFs are paid under the IRF Prospective Payment System (IRF-PPS), using Case-Mix Groups (CMGs) instead of MS-DRGs. There are roughly 1,150 IRFs in the U.S.: about 250 are freestanding, while ~900 are designated rehabilitation units within larger acute-care hospitals. IRFs in HCRIS data show distinctive operational patterns: long average length-of-stay (14-16 days), high therapy-hours-per-day, and substantial coverage by Medicare (60-70% of admissions).

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