Search Tag: readmissions

2017 14 Nov

While a programme implemented in the U.S. to reduce hospital readmissions was effective in curtailing the rate of readmissions, the same programme was associated with an increase in the rate of death among Medicare patients hospitalised with heart failure. The findings are from a new study published by JAMA Cardiology to coincide with the American...Read more

2017 05 Sep

Data tools can be utilised to improve care management. At Des Moines, Iowa-based UnityPoint Health, predictive analytics tools have been integrated into clinical workflows enabling the health system to achieve a 40 percent reduction in 30-day readmissions. It helps that the organisation has a keen focus on promoting a culture that embraces...Read more

2017 14 May

New research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that patients with heart failure who were rehospitalised within a month to the same hospital were discharged quicker and were more likely to survive.  Ambulance policies in both the US and Canada require patients to be taken to the nearest emergency room even if...Read more

2017 08 May

New research indicates that many hospitals are burdened by persistent penalties incurred for their excess 30-day Medicare readmissions. The study published in Health Affairs suggests policymakers look at other alternatives that could help hospitals avoid persistent penalisation, while still reducing the rate of avoidable readmissions. See Also...Read more

2017 10 Apr

Integration of caregivers into the discharge process for elderly patients can reduce the risk of hospital readmission. A study led by the University of Pittsburgh Health Policy Institute showed that discharge planning process that involved family members or unpaid caregivers was associated with a 25 percent fewer readmissions at 90 days and 24 percent...Read more

2016 20 Oct

A simple and easy to use nomogram can predict the likelihood of readmission to surgical intensive care using just 7 common variables already collected for critical care patients, according to research presented at the 2016 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons. Luke A. Martin, MD, a general surgery research resident and the study’s...Read more

2016 11 Jul

Health Affairs has reported that population health programmes set up to reduce hospital admissions may also cut readmissions. Following a study into Medicare data from 2010 and 2013 on changes in rates of admission and readmission, researchers found a strong link between a low  30-day number of admission and readmission rates. This was in spite of...Read more

2016 12 Mar

Researchers in an international, multicentre study found that the HOSPITAL score accurately predicted patients at high risk of a 30-day potentially avoidable readmissions. "Interventions to reduce readmissions are demanding and complex. We need to target patients who are most likely to benefit, which means identifying who is at high risk for avoidable...Read more

2016 09 Feb

Among older men with heart attack, heart failure or pneumonia, hospitalisation at Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals was associated with lower 30-day all-cause mortality rates for heart attack and heart failure and higher 30-day all-cause readmission rates for these conditions as compared with hospitalisations at non-VA hospitals. Any absolute differences...Read more

2015 15 Sep

According to a study published in JACC: Heart Failure, Michigan hospitals that participated in the American College of Cardiology's "See you in 7" programme demonstrated important reductions in 30-day readmission rates for Medicare heart failure patients as compared to hospitals that were not part of the programme despite only modest increases in...Read more

2015 03 Aug

According to the American Heart Association, poor medication adherence costs the healthcare system approximately $300 billion annually due to medication-related problems. The article is published in Case Management Insider.  Medication-related problems are one of the leading reasons that people have to go back to the hospital after discharge. It...Read more

2015 30 Jul

Data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP ® ) are more accurate than administrative data for driving surgical quality improvement in hospitals, according to two new studies presented at the 2015 ACS NSQIP National Conference in Chicago. The first study, conducted by Inova Health System in Virginia,...Read more

2015 20 Jul

Healthcare providers are turning to mobile technology to help them with efforts in reducing "preventable readmissions". A number of mobile apps that promote patient wellness and chronic disease management are already in use — eg, apps for monitoring patient blood pressure and blood sugar and those for tracking sleep. While noting that "some readmissions...Read more

2015 10 Jul

A new UCLA study reveals that between 2009-2011 sepsis accounted for roughly the same percentage of hospital readmissions in California as heart attacks and congestive heart failure (CHF) — and that it cost the healthcare system more than both of them combined. Annual cost of sepsis-related readmissions in California during the study period was estimated...Read more

2015 04 Jun

As transitional care is increasingly used to reduce hospital readmissions, progressive care nurses can play an integral role in efforts to help patients achieve functional recovery faster in post-acute care, according to an article published in the journal Critical Care Nurse (CCN) .   The report, “Progressive Mobility as a Team Effort in Transitional...Read more

2015 20 May

Severe sepsis is a significant cause of rehospitalisation along the lines of nationally recognised outcome measures and more commonly discussed conditions such as pneumonia and heart failure (HF), according to a new study presented at the 2015 American Thoracic Society International Conference. “Severe sepsis continues to be a common cause of hospitalisation...Read more

2015 23 Apr

An innovative program has been implemented at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ that aims to reduce unnecessary emergency room visits and hospital stays. As part of the programme, teams comprising of a paramedic, critical care nurse and EMT will make house calls on heart patients soon after their discharge. Lafe Bush, a paramedic and director...Read more

2015 01 Apr

A study published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Infection Control reports that Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) doubles hospital readmission rates and lengths of stay for infected patients. C. difficile causes inflammation of the colon, and diarrhoea associated with the microbe can be life threatening. CDI risk increases with...Read more

2015 30 Mar

An entrepreneur has raised $7 million from investors to expand a predictive analytics software platform for hospitals and large surgical centres. Rich Krueger, CEO of Patient Route Systems, said in a recent interview with MedCity News that the goal of the predictive analytics tool is to help analysts and department heads within health systems to detect...Read more

2015 18 Mar

A study which assessed the relationship between social media and healthcare quality evaluations reveals that hospital ratings submitted by patients and consumers via social media, such as Facebook’s five-star system, accurately reflect patient satisfaction and care quality as measured by readmission rates. The finding that feedback from user-generated...Read more

2015 14 Mar

Wellflix, a healthcare media start-up, has developed a new idea of a parting gift at discharge for congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. It is a DVD that would help patients understand their care plan and would show them what they need to do to change their behaviour and avoid readmission. It will also help hospitals reduce their readmission rates...Read more

2015 11 Mar

Rehospitalisation within 90 days is common for survivors of severe sepsis, in which internal organs begin to shut down in response to serious infection. Approximately 42 percent of patients who survive severe sepsis return to the hospital within three months, but new research suggest that the same percentage of those readmissions are related to diagnoses...Read more

2015 02 Mar

A pair of studies published in the Journal of Patient Safety show "significant confusion" among emergency physicians and prehospital care providers in interpreting the universal end-of-life care documents, called Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST), which communicate seriously ill patients' choices for life-sustaining treatments....Read more

2015 10 Feb

Hospitals have little or no control over some factors related to their readmission rates, such as poor access to community health facilities outside of the hospital in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Nonetheless, hospitals in underserved communities are penalised when high readmission rates trigger reductions in Medicare reimbursements. Community-focused...Read more

2015 08 Feb

Hospital readmissions present a major challenge for administrators working to reduce costs and improve care quality metrics. It is not only chronic medical conditions which can be problematic for hospitals wishing to avoid financial penalties for readmissions: many patients are readmitted with complications following surgical procedures. According...Read more

2015 28 Jan

Midas+, a subsidiary of Connecticut-based Xerox, is combining its vast data resources with five years of Medicare and claims data to help hospitals better predict readmissions. With this new system, known as Midas+ Readmission Penalty Forecaster, a hospital can get a much more accurate prediction or “near real-time” information on both patient patterns...Read more

2014 30 Sep

A study was conducted with patients at high risk of hospital readmission or death after hospital discharge, which used a virtual ward model of care. The findings showed that there was no significant reduction in the rate of readmission or death up to a year following the discharge of the patient. Readmissions are common and can be very costly...Read more