Research done by Cleveland Clinic shows that, contrary to popular belief, high readmission rates may not necessarily equate to substandard hospital care, according to a report published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In fact, the researchers, using data from more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals, found that a higher rate of readmissions for heart failure was connected to a lower 30-day mortality rate.
The researchers suggest that improving patient survival rates past the one-month mark may require extra physician visits, procedures or surgery, which consequently increases the 30-day readmission rate.
Cleveland Clinic researchers began to examine high readmission rates when they noticed their 30-day readmission rate, at 28 percent, was worse than the national average of 24.7 percent. However, their 30-day death rate for Medicare patients of 8.8 percent with heart failure is better than the national average of 11.2 percent.
Read the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on readmission rates.
Read more about readmission rates:
-HHS Adds Hospital Outpatient and ED Quality Date to Public Websites
-Jim Reiter of the Maryland Hospital Association Discusses Linking Rate Hike to Improved Hospital Readmissions
-One-Quarter of Hospital Patients Readmitted Within Two Years
In fact, the researchers, using data from more than 3,000 U.S. hospitals, found that a higher rate of readmissions for heart failure was connected to a lower 30-day mortality rate.
The researchers suggest that improving patient survival rates past the one-month mark may require extra physician visits, procedures or surgery, which consequently increases the 30-day readmission rate.
Cleveland Clinic researchers began to examine high readmission rates when they noticed their 30-day readmission rate, at 28 percent, was worse than the national average of 24.7 percent. However, their 30-day death rate for Medicare patients of 8.8 percent with heart failure is better than the national average of 11.2 percent.
Read the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report on readmission rates.
Read more about readmission rates:
-HHS Adds Hospital Outpatient and ED Quality Date to Public Websites
-Jim Reiter of the Maryland Hospital Association Discusses Linking Rate Hike to Improved Hospital Readmissions
-One-Quarter of Hospital Patients Readmitted Within Two Years