Read more on how hospitals are reducing readmission rates in SBN. The article is titled “How rounding is helping hospitals reduce patient readmissions”, and here is the introduction:
Hospital readmission rates are declining, and there are several contributing factors. One of the main factors is that reducing patient admissions within 30 days after being discharged from an earlier hospital stay, whether the patient is admitted at the same or a different hospital, or for a different reason, has been a tremendous focus with the implementation of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP). A provision in the Affordable Care Act established the HRRP, which requires the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reduce payments to Inpatient Prospective Payment System hospitals with excess readmissions in October 2012. Facing penalties and reimbursement reductions, hospitals have taken a proactive approach to ensuring readmissions are minimized.
“Readmission rates will continue to naturally decline as the focus on the patient and the quality of care continues,” says David Chimento, Client Services Manager at Sentact. “In addition, penalties and reimbursement reductions will continue to drive hospitals and health care networks to focus on reducing readmissions.”
Smart Business spoke with Chimento about hospital readmissions and what hospitals are doing to keep readmission rates down.
