Hospital Readmissions

The latest research on hospital readmissions, published in the NEJM, finds that the largest single factor associated with readmission rates for heart failure and pneumonia is the underlying rate of overall hospitalizations, suggesting that to reduce readmissions, you need to reduce the general predeliction to hospitalize.

In another piece of research related to hospital readmissions, the Dartmouth Atlas project released a report on variations in readmission patterns across the country and among academic medical centers. Possible reasons for the variation are explored as is the longitudinal trend, which shows no improvement.