Study: Medicare, Medicaid Patients More Likely to Have “Bounce-Back” Admissions After ED Discharge

Medicare and Medicaid patients are more likely than other patients to be admitted to a hospital within seven days of being discharged from an emergency department, according to a study in Annals of Emergency Medicine.

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Researchers examined the factors associated with bounce-back admissions, defined as unscheduled hospital admissions within seven days of ED discharge, by analyzing the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development files.

Results showed that 2.6 percent of patients discharged from California EDs at 288 facilities in 2007 had bounce-back admissions to the hospital. Medicaid or Medicare insurance and disposition of leaving against medical advice or before the evaluation was complete were associated with bounce-back admissions. The three most common ED discharge diagnoses associated with these admissions were chronic renal disease (not end stage), end-stage renal disease and congestive heart failure. For-profit hospitals and teaching-affiliated hospitals were also associated with higher bounce-back admission rates.

More Articles on Hospital Admissions:

Report: Mental Health, Substance Use Inpatient Admissions Increased
Study: ED Physicians’ Admit Rates Vary Widely in Single System

Study: All-Cause Readmissions Yield Artificially High Rates

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