Improving Patient Safety: Prevention of Hospital Readmission

Identifying and preventing avoidable hospital admissions have become cornerstone quality metrics that influence reimbursement and provision of quality care. Many initiatives focus on improving communication with other clinicians and patients, coordinating care after discharge, and improving care quality during the initial admission to prevent future readmissions. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services define a readmission as an admission to any acute care hospital for any reason within 30 days of discharge from an acute care hospital. Certain risk factors can indicate the need for targeted intervention to prevent readmission. Several risk stratification screening tools have been developed to assist clinicians in identifying at-risk patients for early intervention. However, the evidence supporting the accuracy and reliability of these tools remains limited.