How To Reduce Hospital Readmissions

Joynt and Jha authors of the article “A Path Forward on Medicare Readmissions” have analyzed the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reduce the number of hospital readmissions for Medicare patients. CMS penalizes hospitals for high readmission rates based the calculation of expected number of readmissions for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia from 2008 to 2011 while adjusting age, sex, and pre-existing chronic conditions. The penalty percentage of reimbursement for Medicare patients has increased over the years to reach 3%. The penalty has been controversial with criticism focused on two main points; the first point is whether