A composite measure of a patient's condition at discharge can be used to accurately predict the risk of an unplanned readmission within 30 days, according to a study in Medical Care.
Researchers developed four risk categories of the Rothman Index — a composite measure of patient condition updated regularly from the electronic medical record. The composite is based on vital signs, nursing assessments, Braden score, cardiac rhythms and laboratory test results.
In 2011, 16 percent of the sample patients at a major teaching hospital had a 30-day unplanned readmission. The risk of readmission for a patient in the highest risk category was greater than one in five, while the risk was about one in 10 for patients in the lowest risk category.
A multivariable analysis found that compared with patients in the lowest risk category, patients in the highest risk category and patients in the medium risk category were 2.65 and 2.40 times more likely to be readmitted, respectively.
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