Reducing Hospital Readmission Rates: Current Strategies and Future Directions

New financial penalties for institutions with high readmission rates have intensified efforts to reduce rehospitalization. Several interventions that involve multiple components (e.g., patient needs assessment, medication reconciliation, patient education, arranging timely outpatient appointments, and providing telephone follow-up) have successfully reduced readmission rates for patients discharged to home. The effect of interventions on readmission rates is related to the number of components implemented; single-component interventions are unlikely to reduce readmissions significantly. For patients discharged to postacute care facilities, multicomponent interventions have reduced readmissions through enhanced…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: K23AG040157, R01HL109388
• CF
  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

  Awards: 1C1CMS331006, 1C1CMS330979-01, 1C1CMS330979
• OO
  Office of Academic Affiliations, Department of Veterans Affairs
• GR
  Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center
• NH
  National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

  Award: R01HL109388
• NC
  NIH Clinical Center