Reducing Readmissions
The 2012 Heart Failure calendar and companion nurse teaching guide are now available to help heart failure patients to take control of their condition. You Can Live with Heart Failure – Healthy Habits for...
On October 4, 2011, the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation held its Reducing Readmissions in Oregon conference, bringing together nearly 100 health care stakeholders to collaborate on activities aimed at preventing avoidable hospital readmissions and improving transitions in care. The conference attendees included representatives from consumer groups, provider groups, hospitals, health plans, long term care facilities and government agencies. Harold Miller, President and CEO of the Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement and Executive Director of the Center for Healthcare Quality...
Two studies recently concluded that older patients who participate in transitional care programs after initial discharge from hospital are significantly less likely to be readmitted. One study indicated that patients who participate in a transitional care program were in fact 48% less likely to require hospital readmission than counterparts who chose against participation in such programs. These studies underscore the importance of a holistic approach to medical intervention, and the necessity to bridge gaps between care settings in order to achieve robust, cost-effective,...
Readmission of patients recently discharged after hospitalization represents an expensive and all-too-common lapse in the quality of care delivered in the U.S. health care system. National data reveal that nearly 24.5 percent of Medicare patients admitted for chronic diseases such as heart failure will return to the hospital within 30 days and that the government is estimated to be paying an extra $12 billion to $17 billion a year for this care. In addition, patients of differing races, ethnicities and language preferences often experience different rates of readmission. This disparity can be an issue of quality or culturally inappropriate care that most hospitals can address.
Goals of Reducing Readmissions hospitals:
- Reduce 30-day All-Cause readmission rates following heart failure hospitalization by 20 percent from baseline by March 2012;
- Achieve and maintain 95 percent on the heart failure Measure of Ideal Care (an all-or-none measure determining whether heart failure patients received all recommended therapies);
- Standardize the collection of race, ethnicity and language data during registration using the U.S. Office of Management and Budget categories
The AF4Q Hospital Quality Network is a diverse organization which addresses three separate QI initiatives: Reducing Readmission, Increasing Throughput, and Improving Language Services.
To learn more about HQN, download the HQN Brochure.
Aligning Forces for Quality - Hospital Quality Network
To improve quality locally, over 100 forward-thinking hospitals are participating in AF4Q through the AF4Q Hospital Quality Network. Member hospitals engage health care providers at all levels within a hospital to improve the quality and safety of patient care, identify potential disparities and craft plans to ensure equity. The work undertaken by hospitals in AF4Q’s Hospital Quality Network address three separate QI initiatives: Reducing Readmissions, Increasing Throughput and Improving Language Services.
Participating hospitals are a part of a learning network of institutions that develop and exchange quality improvement (QI) tools, strategies and lessons learned. They aim to develop and encourage the spread of effective and replicable QI strategies, models and resources within the hospital, across Aligning Forces communities and the country.
The breadth of the network gives it strength and diversity. The AF4Q Hospital Quality Network includes small, 25-bed critical access hospitals in places like Maine, Wisconsin and Humboldt County as well as large 500+ bed urban teaching hospitals in Memphis, Boston, Albuquerque and Oregon.