For the brief, AHRQ examined readmission trends and costs using the 2010-16 Nationwide Readmissions Database, which includes data on hospital patients 1 year and older readmitted for any cause within 30 days of first admission. AHRQ focused on readmissions for 18 of the 21 principal diagnosis categories listed in ICD-10’s diagnosis coding system. Three categories were excluded for lack of data, or because they involved planned aftercare.
The average readmission cost for any diagnosis in 2016 was $14,400.
Eighteen diagnoses and their average readmission costs:
1. Congenital malformations — $19,000 in average readmission costs for 2016
2. Neoplasms — $17,900
3. Infectious/parasitic diseases — $16,700
4. Injury, poisoning, external causes — $16,500
5. Circulatory system diseases — $15,900
6. Blood diseases — $15,700
7. Musculoskeletal system diseases — $15,000
8. Respiratory system diseases — $14,500
9. Nervous system diseases — $14,400
10. Digestive system diseases — $14,400
11. Eye/adnexa diseases — $14,000
12. Conditions not elsewhere classified — $13,800
13. Endocrine/metabolic diseases — $13,500
14. Genitourinary system diseases — $13,200
15. Skin diseases — $13,200
16. Ear/mastoid process diseases — $12,900
17. Mental/behavioral disorders — $8,200
18. Pregnancy/childbirth — $7,000
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