One-Quarter of Hospital Patients Readmitted Within Two Years

Tags: AHRQ | Medicaid | Medicare | readmissions

One-quarter of all hospital patients were readmitted one or more times for the same condition within a two-year period, according to a release by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Several conditions showed even higher rates in AHRQ's analysis of data on 15 million patients in 12 states from 2006-2007. More than one-third of atherosclerosis patients, 30 percent of patients with uncomplicated diabetes and 28 percent with high blood pressure were readmitted within two years.

Broken down by insurance status:

• For Medicare patients, 42 percent had multiple hospital admissions and 38 percent multiple ED visits.
• For Medicaid patients, 23 percent had multiple hospital admissions and 50 percent had multiple ED visit.
• For uninsured patients, 22 percent had multiple hospital readmissions and 38 percent had multiple ED visits.
• For private payor patients, 19 percent had multiple readmissions and 29 percent had multiple ED visits.

Read the AHRQ's release on readmissions.

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