Three-fifths of nursing home residents' hospitalizations from 2006 to 2008 were potentially avoidable, according to a study in Medical Care.
Data from the Nursing Home Stay file for 2006 to 2008, which includes a sample of residents in 10 percent of long-stay nursing homes, showed the majority of potentially avoidable hospitalizations of these residents were due to infections, injuries and congestive heart failure. Renal disease, diabetes and a high number of medications were among the clinical risk factors for avoidable hospitalizations. The authors also found that staffing, quality and reimbursement affect avoidable hospitalizations, according to the study.
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