For the observational study, researchers examined documentation, surveyed patients and performed physician case reviews to determine potential preventability of 30-day readmissions in 1,000 patients.
Researchers determined that 269 of these instances were considered potentially preventable. The opportunity for prevention most often occurred during emergency department decision-making regarding readmission, premature discharge from hospitals and outpatient care issues including patient lack of awareness regarding whom to contact about care post-discharge.
While readmission penalties have spurred efforts to improve transitional care, few programs have attempted to pinpoint opportunities for preventability. This study doesn’t provide an exact blueprint for readmission rate reduction, but it does locate areas along the care model that are ripe for improvement.
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