Patients in EDs who have recently been hospitalized are at much higher risk of being admitted compared to patients who have not recently been in the hospital, according to research led by a Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania physicians.
Looking at data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, researchers analyzed a sample of approximately 2.3 million emergency room visits from each year between 2005 and 2008 and found that hospital re-admission rates for recently hospitalized patients increased each year of the study — from 28.6 percent to 38 percent. Admission rates for patients not recently hospitalized increased at a lesser rate — from 15.3 percent to 17.2 percent.
Dr. Meisel says these findings show emergency departments play a major role in preventing hospital readmissions and emergency physicians need to better understand why recently discharged patients are more likely to be admitted to the hospital than people who have not recently been in the hospital.
Read the news release about hospital readmissions.
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Looking at data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, researchers analyzed a sample of approximately 2.3 million emergency room visits from each year between 2005 and 2008 and found that hospital re-admission rates for recently hospitalized patients increased each year of the study — from 28.6 percent to 38 percent. Admission rates for patients not recently hospitalized increased at a lesser rate — from 15.3 percent to 17.2 percent.
Dr. Meisel says these findings show emergency departments play a major role in preventing hospital readmissions and emergency physicians need to better understand why recently discharged patients are more likely to be admitted to the hospital than people who have not recently been in the hospital.
Read the news release about hospital readmissions.
Related Articles on Quality:
6 Steps to Reduce Surgical Site Infections in Surgery Centers
New Practices at Texas Hospital Lead to 82% Decline of Infection by Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria
Patient Safety Tool: 10 Common Questions and Answers About MRSA
