Emergency department visits within 30 days post-discharge accounted for 39.8 percent of post-discharge hospital-based acute care, which is a measure of ED visits and hospital readmissions, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study included more than four million adult patients discharged from an acute-care hospital in California, Florida or Nebraska between July 1, 2008 and September 31, 2009. The researchers assessed the number of ED visits that did not lead to an admission, the number of hospital readmissions and the amount of hospital-based acute care — a combined measure of ED visits and hospital readmissions.
Within 30-days post-discharge, 17.9 percent of hospitalizations led to at least one acute-care encounter. Of these encounters, ED visits accounted for 39.8 percent. In addition, there were 97.5 treat-and-release ED visits for every 1,000 discharges and 147.6 hospital readmissions for every 1,000 discharges.
The authors concluded that ED visits within 30 days after hospitalization are common and that hospitals should target reducing ED visits in addition to reducing readmissions in efforts to improve care transitions.
Study: Safety-Net Hospitals Hurt Most by Readmission Penalties
Study: Medicare Readmissions Decreased More in Areas With Quality Improvement Initiatives
The study included more than four million adult patients discharged from an acute-care hospital in California, Florida or Nebraska between July 1, 2008 and September 31, 2009. The researchers assessed the number of ED visits that did not lead to an admission, the number of hospital readmissions and the amount of hospital-based acute care — a combined measure of ED visits and hospital readmissions.
Within 30-days post-discharge, 17.9 percent of hospitalizations led to at least one acute-care encounter. Of these encounters, ED visits accounted for 39.8 percent. In addition, there were 97.5 treat-and-release ED visits for every 1,000 discharges and 147.6 hospital readmissions for every 1,000 discharges.
The authors concluded that ED visits within 30 days after hospitalization are common and that hospitals should target reducing ED visits in addition to reducing readmissions in efforts to improve care transitions.
More Articles on Hospital Readmissions:
20 Statistics on Hospital ReadmissionsStudy: Safety-Net Hospitals Hurt Most by Readmission Penalties
Study: Medicare Readmissions Decreased More in Areas With Quality Improvement Initiatives