Causes Of Hospital Readmission

Reducing Hospital Readmission Rough Draft

Hospital Readmissions Are Costly To the Patient and the Nation

Hospital readmissions are costly and expose patients to hospital acquired infections prolonging the length of stay and decreasing the quality of life. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) 2014 report highlighted that as of 2011, the major causes of a 30 day hospital readmission are attributed to congestive heart failure, septicemia and pneumonia. Furthermore, the cost of readmission is estimated to be about $41.3 billion, an extravagant amount necessitating immediate attention.

What it is not

There is no quick fix to reduce hospital readmission rate because of the complexity of the conditions for which patients are

Furthermore, identifying the root cause of readmission in a particular acute care facility could be difficult due to the complexity of diagnosis as well as staffing pattern. For example, in a large facility, an unattached patient could receive treatment from a hospitalist who does not know the patient’s history and would only address the patient’s clinical condition upon presentation. This situation could lead to a disjointed and fragmented care leaving out continuation of

Each readmission reason must be looked at closely and analyzed to clearly understand the root cause.

Who Experiences the Problem And What Is Their Experience?

Factors that are predictive of readmission are identified as the existence of comorbidities, older age, poor social support and history of psychological disorder such as depression (Marcantonio, E., McKean, S., Golfinger, M., Kleefield, S., Yurkofsky, M., & Brennan, T, 1999). Patients that are readmitted have a greater incident of complications due to hospital acquired infection contributing to an increase in health care cost. Moreover, an increased incident of repeated hospitalization can contribute to depression in addition to imposing undue stress on the care giver.

The Impact of The Problem

Readmission costs the nation about $41.3 billion (AHRQ, 2014). It is the largest economic drain in the nation. As of 2014, the United States is ranked last in population health when compared to other developed nations (The Common Wealth Fund, 2014). Reason for poor performance is due to lack of coordination between providers upon discharge and inadequate health coverage.