Report: Little Change in U.S. Hospital Readmission Rates

A new Dartmouth Atlas Project report concludes that U.S. hospitals have made little progress on readmission rates over the past five years. Researchers analyzed 10.7 million hospital discharges for Medicare beneficiaries. They found that 30-day surgical readmission rates were 12.7% in both 2004 and 2009 and that 30-day medical readmission rates rose slightly, from 15.9% in 2004 to 16.1% in 2009. The study also found that more than half of patients failed to see a primary care clinician within two weeks of discharge, a step that can help avoid readmissions and improve outcomes.

• "Readmission Rates Largely Static, Dartmouth Report Finds; Regional Differences Noted" (Zigmond, Modern Healthcare, 9/28).
• "U.S. Hospitals Face Challenge To Reduce Readmissions" (Kelly, Reuters, 9/28).