What is the impact of hospital readmission rates?

Hospital readmission rates serve as a crucial metric in healthcare, reflecting the quality of care provided by hospitals. Higher readmission rates may indicate issues with care quality, effectiveness of treatment, or the adequacy of post-discharge care and patient education. Numerous clinical studies have highlighted the importance of this metric:

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that nearly 20% of Medicare beneficiaries discharged from a hospital were readmitted within 30 days, with the implication being that these readmissions could have been prevented with high-quality care.

High readmission rates can signal poor patient outcomes and may suggest deficiencies in post-discharge care, such as unclear instructions or substandard post-hospital coordination. Research confirms that improving discharge planning and follow-up can significantly cut readmission rates. Therefore, readmission rates are a valuable metric for gauging hospital performance and quality control. However, it’s essential to assess these rates alongside other performance measures and within the context of the hospital’s specific patient population.

Patient Mortality Rates

While patient mortality rates have an obvious importance for your healthcare decisions, they should not be the sole factor in evaluating an institution’s quality. Mortality rates need to be risk-adjusted to account for variations in patient populations, such as age, underlying health conditions, and disease severity. Otherwise, hospitals that treat more severe cases or have sicker patients might appear to have worse outcomes than they actually do. Despite methods of risk adjustment, it’s challenging to account for all patient factors, and some disparities might still be due to these unmeasured factors.

Examine in-house prevention strategies

Even the best surgeons can have poor outcomes if they work at a hospital with low quality standards in place. As an example of the variation, note that the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute awards additional points in its hospital rankings to those that have implemented a handwashing protocol. Though this may sound excessive to some, studies show that hospital healthcare providers wash their hands less than half as often as they should.

Pressure ulcers

Pressure ulcers, also known as bedsores, are among the most preventable complications. Effective policies should include routine patient evaluations, repositioning of stationary patients, and use of specialized equipment to ease pressure on susceptible areas. They should promote patient and caregiver awareness on pressure ulcer prevention and early detection. Hospitals must ensure staff training in identifying and treating these ulcers, using suitable wound care products and techniques. Regular policy reviews and updates with current evidence-based practices are crucial. By implementing and enforcing such policies, healthcare providers can notably lower the pressure ulcer rates and enhance patient outcomes.

Fall prevention

Nearly 1 million patients fall in U.S. hospitals each year, which can lead to significant fractures, cuts, or internal bleeding. Falls are a significant threat to patient safety in American hospitals. They can result in serious injuries, increased hospital stays, and even death. Patients who are at higher risk of falls include the elderly, those with a history of falls, and those with impaired mobility. Nurses can help prevent falls by assessing patients for fall risk, implementing appropriate interventions, and educating patients and their families on fall prevention strategies. It is crucial for nurses to remain vigilant and take proactive measures to minimize the risk of falls in healthcare settings.

In the safest hospitals, nurses use a six-factor fall risk scale to calculate each patient’s risk, like medications that might make them a fall risk or cause lower limb weakness. Then, electronic medical records automatically link each risk factor to the appropriate prevention measure, including scheduling assisted bathroom visits. Thirdly, patient education plans are implemented, including posters explaining the risks and fall prevention plan.