Baby or Bathwater?

Since 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have publicly reported risk standardized 30-day readmission rates for patients hospitalized with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and pneumonia. Over the next few years, the portfolio of readmission measures will expand to include patients with a broad range of medical and surgical conditions.1 Furthermore, under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program of the Affordable Care Act, hospitals with higher than average readmission rates will be subject to a payment penalty.2 The stakes are high for hospitals, with millions of dollars of CMS payments at risk, and hospitals are trying to identify and implement effective strategies for reducing readmissions.