Healthcare Daily Digest for 11 February 2013: A Plague of Hospital Readmittances

It’s being hailed as an “epidemic” — but not in the sexy way plague was an epidemic or alien-bearing meteorites could be an epidemic. This is en epidemic of “hospital readmittance” and while not sexy, it’s costly: “more than $17 billion a year in avoidable Medicare bills alone,” according to the news story.

The issue? Waiting until the discharge date to talk with patients about after-care seems to be a big culprit behind readmissions. Most people just want out of the room and the weird hospital smells and away from the lunch-plate Jell-O and they don’t listen.

What this after-care accomplishes — and it can be anything from beginning the after-care prep on the first day of admittance to better patient management while in the hospital. “Patients leave the hospital not necessarily when they’re well but when they’re on the road to recovery,” said Dr. David Goodman.

This reduction in readmissions is going to be key to hospitals’ bottom line: Medicare is set to begin fining facilities that don’t reduce readmissions enough.

Monday’s headlines coming right up:

• Answers to Tough Questions: The Orlando Sentinel enlisted the service of a man with piercing brown eyes to answer your Medicare questions. (If you look too long into his eyes, you may end up common-law married to him. So: careful.)

• And As a Follow-Up: You can read this FAQ on Medicare doctor pay.

• Like Sonny & Cher After the Split: Once part of a healthcare reform duo, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Paul Ryan have parted ways on healthcare. I really thought those two were going to make it.
• Healthcare Jobs on the Rise!: At least acdording to this story from MedPageToday.com. “The healthcare sector continues to add jobs, despite the continued slow growth in overall healthcare spending.”

• Oops: “State police arrested a Harrisburg health care worker after they said she falsified time sheets and lied about caring for a patient who was actually receiving treatment in a hospital in Philadelphia.”