A nursing home patient's diagnosis is not the best predictor of whether the patient will be transferred to a hospital, according to a study published in Innovation in Aging.
Researchers reviewed 1,931 hospital transfers from nursing homes. They examined whether patients had one of six diagnoses commonly linked to potentially avoidable hospitalizations: pneumonia, urinary tract infections, dehydration, pressure ulcers, cellulitis, heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma.
The study shows 25 percent of hospital transfers had one of the six diagnoses as compared to 22 percent of hospital transfers who had other diagnoses.
The most common quality improvement opportunity researchers identified to potentially avoid hospital transfers related to one of the six studied diagnoses was that the patient's condition could have been managed safely if appropriate resources were available. Problems with communication among stakeholders were the most commonly noted area for improvement for transfers due to other diagnoses.