A recent report from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development found that more than one in three California hospital patients is readmitted within a year. 

In a California Healthline Special Report by Deirdre Kennedy, state and hospital officials discussed the best ways to respond to the OSHPD report.

The Special Report includes comments from:

• Anne-Marie Audet, vice president for quality improvement and efficiency at the Commonwealth Fund;
• Toby Douglas, deputy director of health care programs at California’s Department of Health Care Services;
• Patrick Johnston, president and CEO of the California Association of Health Plans;
• Debby Rogers, vice president of quality and emergency services at the California Hospital Association; and
• Mary Tran, OSHPD research scientist and lead author of the report.

OSHPD says the report is the first time the state has compiled and analyzed readmission figures.

Mary Tran, the report’s lead author, said that although the OSHPD report does not examine the causes of hospital readmissions, it does point to areas where there is room for improvement in patient care (Kennedy, California Healthline, 6/14).

The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.

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