News: Healthcare setting could play a role in readmission reduction

Hospitals may be better at preventing early readmissions but outpatient clinics and home-based interventions are better for preventing late readmissions, according to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Readmissions within seven days of discharge were compared with readmissions between eight and 30 days of discharge, described as early and late readmissions, respectively, JustCoding reported.

The study, which covered 10 academic medical centers from April 2012 through March 2013 and included 822 adult patients, found:

• 36.2% of early readmissions, versus 23.0% of late readmissions, were deemed preventable
• 36.6% of patients were readmitted within seven days after discharge
• 63.4% of patients were readmitted eight to 30 days after discharge

The researchers found that faulty physician decision making was the number one cause of early readmissions, associated with 28.9% of the cases.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from the original article published in JustCoding. To read the complete study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, click here. To read about the CDI effect on readmission reduction, click here. To read a Q&A about readmission metrics, click here.