For the study, researchers analyzed data on more than 15.4 million Medicare patients who visited 3,238 U.S. hospitals between July 23, 2014, and Nov. 30, 2016. They looked at hospital-acquired conditions per 1,000 episodes, 30-day readmissions and 30-day mortality rates at each hospital.
In fiscal year 2015, 724 hospitals were penalized under the HACRP. Researchers included 708 in their analysis. They found the average hospital-acquired condition rate for penalized facilities was 2.72 per 1,000 episodes, compared to 2.06 for nonpenalized hospitals. The 30-day readmission rates for penalized and nonpenalized hospitals were 14.4 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Both groups had a 9 percent 30-day mortality rate.
“Penalization was not associated with significant changes in rates of hospital-acquired conditions, 30-day readmission or 30-day mortality, and does not appear to drive meaningful clinical improvements,” researchers concluded. “By disproportionately penalizing hospitals caring for more disadvantaged patients, the HACRP could exacerbate inequities in care.”
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