Researchers examined data from more than 200,000 nurses and 412 hospitals in California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey to determine the likelihood of 30-day readmission for Medicare patients over the age of 65 with heart failure, heart attack and pneumonia. Respectively, readmission rates were 7 percent, 6 percent and 10 percent lower for those patients when treated in hospitals with good work environments.
“Our results suggest that improving nurses’ work environment and reducing nurses’ workload are organization-wide reforms that could result in fewer readmissions for Medicare beneficiaries with common medical conditions,” lead study author Matthew McHugh, PhD, JD, a health policy expert at Penn Nursing, said in the release.
More Articles on Hospitals and Readmission Rates:
Minnesota Hospitals Improve Rates of Readmissions, Pressure Ulcers, Falls
Pennsylvania Heart Failure Readmission Rates Decreased From 2007 to 2011
Study: Decreased Length of Stay Not Associated With Increased Readmissions
