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SHM and QuantiaMD Release Joint Study: Clinicians Feel Systems for Preventing Readmissions Among High-Risk Patients Not Very EffectiveMar 28, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- More than nine out of ten clinicians believe that reducing readmissions is an important topic, but few have the resources at hand to tackle it, according to a new study from QuantiaMD, a mobile and online physician community, and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM). According to the groups, the study surveyed 1,013 clinicians and found that though 94 percent of them feel reducing readmissions is an important topic, 71 percent believe their organizations' current systems and procedures for preventing readmissions among high-risk patient populations are only somewhat or not effective. Most clinicians also feel that their organizations don't provide adequate training and education on the topic. More than half (54 percent) of clinicians queried believed that the current training and educational opportunities at their organizations did not adequately focus on reducing readmissions. When asked about which topics they would like more information, top responses included post-discharge follow-up care, condition-specific interventions and discharge communication. Respondents most frequently treated patients presenting with the following conditions - which are most commonly associated with hospital readmissions: heart failure; COPD; pneumonia; coronary artery disease; and psychiatric illness. "There are a number of discharge issues that can impact whether a patient is safely transitioned from the hospital to home," said Mark Williams, MD, FACP, FHM, Professor and Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Principal Investigator, Project BOOST. "We need to optimize care in the hospital, of course, but we also need to educate patients and caregivers about their condition, ensure that pending tests and studies are completed, and then get those results into the hands of the patient's primary care provider. All of this can occur with optimized communication with patients' outpatient physicians. They want this, and they deserve it." The importance of working to reduce unnecessary readmissions was highlighted in an April 2, 2009 New England Journal of Medicine study, co-authored by Dr. Williams, that found that nearly one in five Medicare beneficiaries were re-hospitalized within 30 days, and, unplanned Medicare readmissions cost the federal government $17.4 billion. Further pushing this issue to the forefront is the fact that under a new federal health care law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will begin penalizing hospitals with higher than expected rates of readmissions starting in 2013. Reducing avoidable hospital readmissions represents an opportunity for positively affecting health care costs while increasing the quality of patient care. According to a 2007 Congressional report by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, 75 percent of hospital readmissions could be avoided with increased efforts designed to prevent unnecessary rehospitalizations. ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) |