Eighty-five percent of healthcare executives in a new survey said their organization’s business plan addresses the CMS penalty for 30-day readmissions, and there are a few particular strategies many of them seem to be using.
HealthLeaders Media asked 106 health system CEOs and physicians at 75 hospitals how their organizations are dealing with the reimbursement penalties imposed by readmissions (PDF). Most agreed that readmissions result from a lack of preventive and ongoing care for people with chronic conditions, as well as a lack of coordination after discharge. These best practices emerged:
- Partnering with home healthcare organizations (73 percent)
- Scheduling follow-up visits with primary care physicians (69 percent)
- Partnering with long-term care and skilled nursing facilities (64 percent)
- Adjusting clinical protocols and discharge practices during acute care (62 percent)
- Providing a hospital-to-home care transition program (56 percent)
- Providing care navigators/coaches for high-risk patients (56 percent)
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HealthLeaders Media, which produced its report in conjunction with home healthcare company Amedisys, also looked specifically at how Monongahela Valley Hospital (PDF) in Pennsylvania cut its heart failure 30-day readmission rate from 27 percent to 14 percent over one year.
The hospital formed a collaborative between its care management team, a dietician and pharmacist, a skilled nursing facility, a personal care home and Amedisys. MVH concluded that integrating with post-acute care providers was key to ensuring that patients followed their care plans, staying in touch with their primary care physicians, reconciling their medications and sticking to their diets.
Read the full report and case study here.
