Why worry about hospital readmissions?

They are costly and often avoidable.

 
No one likes going to the hospital—especially if you were there just less than a month earlier. These readmissions to the hospital spell trouble in many ways. 
 
While some readmissions may be necessary and appropriate, many are considered unnecessary or avoidable. Avoidable readmission to the hospital likely signals the occurrence of one or a combination of these factors:
 
Poor care, 
Premature discharge,
Poor coordination of care after discharge,
Poor transitions between providers, or
Inefficient use of health care resources.
 
 
Cost to hospitals. Readmissions signal the possible problems outlined above, and represent an inefficient use of health care resources. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), hospitals are penalized when Medicare patients are readmitted after treatment for heart failure, heart attack, or pneumonia.
 
Cost to consumers. As we all know, consumers want to remain healthy and out of the hospital for a host of reasons. The AF4Q Alliance in Minnesota developed the RARE (Reducing Avoidable Readmissions Effectively) Campaign because it realized that financial cost wasn’t the only concern for consumers—consumers also care about the stress of repeated hospitalizations and time spent away from loved ones and careers. 
 
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