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Health care readmission tends to be the episode when the patient who had been previously discharged from the health facility is admitted again within a particular tie interval. The rates of readmission have been used recently in the health care services research as a tool that is used to measure the quality of health care services. The health care readmission rates were included in the reimbursement decision for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a segment of the patient protection and affordable care Act of the year 2010, which focuses on punishing health care systems which have high and expected rates of readmission through the use of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. Following the introduction of this penalty, several other programs have been introduced to minimize the health care readmission rate. Some of the programs that have been developed are The Community Based Care Transition Program, Independence At Home Demonstration Program as well as the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative. Also, the health care facility and programs tend to use different time frames to measure the rate of readmission, and the ordinary time frame used is within 30 days of discharge. This research paper will how health care readmission may impact a health facility both negatively when it is high and decisive when it is low (Al-Amin, 2016). Health care readmission has contributed to increased cost in health care provision and a the same time it lowers the quality and patient satisfaction on the health care services provided to him or her.
Brief introduction to the purpose of the study
The health facility readmission has continued to increase the cost of health care in the United States. Health care readmission is often regarded to be an essential tool for measuring the quality of the health care services that particular health care services provider. It is not quite easy to measure quality based on readmission rate of the patient, but it tends to make more sense that a patient tends to be readmitted because the services he was provided with were not of high quality hence not being able to meet his or her health needs(Lackey, 2015). Often readmission is caused by adverse outcomes from a previous treatment. The primary purpose of this study is to determine if the rate of hospital readmission tends to be an accurate measure of quality in the health sector.
Upon conducting the research, the research team was able to identify two major factors that contributed to the increase in the rate of readmission in health care facilities in the United States. The two main factors that were identified were poor information use and management and poor communication pattern.
Poor information use and management
The findings showed that during the period of admission, information collected tends to be lightly reviewed. Hence the decision made based on the information attained tends to not appropriately support the patient’s health, which leads to readmission within 30 days of discharge(Axon & Williams, 2011). It was also noted that upon readmission, the health providers often reviewed the information critically from the past patient’s health records to provide the patient with satisfactory health care service. It was noted that when the health care providers reviewed the patient’s past medical record, they were able to develop valid decision in regards to the improvement of the patient’s health, hence reducing the rate of readmission. Often health facilities tend to use the previous information to develop a clinical decision and following on how the information is used and managed may significantly determine the diagnosis as well as the treatment approach a patient isprovided with.
During admission, the patient should provide his orher past medical information to assist the health practitioners being able to develop accurate clinical decision regarding their health issues. The health care providers need to create a well-documented treatment plan to be able to understand what triggered the readmission and be able to fix the issue(Ballard-Hernandez, 2010). The health facilities need to use advanced technology to record the medical activities and the treatment strategies that they have offered to the patient in order to have an easier way to develop a follow-up.
Poor communication pattern
Communication plays a significant role in ensuring that a patient is provided with quality and satisfactory care. For instance, through effective communication approach standard coordinating care with multiple settings and providers, involving the patient and family caregivers in the plan of care as well as conducting post-discharge follow-up phone calls may be developed hence minimizing the rate of hospital readmission which in turn improves the quality of health care and reduces the health care cost(Bottle, Aylin, & Bell, 2013). Following the findings on the research conducted, it was noted that the communication pattern between the health care providers and health care providers to patients being discharged contributed significantly to the increase in the rate of rehospitalization. Most of the patients who participated in the research asserted that they did not clearly understand how transitional care worked; hence, they were not able to precisely follow the doctors prescription.
Most of the patient provided recommendations that the health care providers should develop a discharge training program which enlightened the patients on how to take care of themselves while they are at home to reduce readmission as well as the health care cost. Also, communication between the health care providers was found to contribute to the increase in the rate of readmission majorly(Bottle, Aylin, & Bell, 2013). Some of the participants of the research who were health care providers asserted that poor communication pattern was also a great contributor to misdiagnosis. They asserted that excellent communication among the work teams greatly impacted the health outcomebecause they would be able to discuss the essential aspects regarding the patient’s health and be able to develop a strong clinical decision. They asserted despite understanding the patient’s situation from his or her past medical records, and it was essential for the health care providers to discuss on the best treatment approach that the patient would be provided by focusing on quality and satisfying the needs of the patient.
The study aimed at understanding if the rate of readmissions in a health facility may be used to determine the type of quality the health facility offers. The findings asserted that the patient’s past medical record plays a significant role to determine the clinical decision that is to be made. The health providers to always review the patient’s past information record to be able to understand the health status of the patient to avoid readmission. On the other hand, communication plays a critical role in the patient’s health provision. Thus, the health care providers need to come together, and it is through communication; they can be able to develop an effective treatment plan. The findings of the research have provided proof that the rate of readmission in a health care facility may be used to determine if the health services provided are of high quality.
Limitations of the Study
Despite including patients and health care providers in the research,the study mainly focused on the activities that contribute to the increase of readmission rate and how the health care providers contributed to these aspects. The research only focused on asking the patients how they felt readmission was impacted them.
Study implications and future works
The findings attained from the study created a room for further investigation on the issue of readmission by focusing on the behavior as well as thinking among the health providers. The investigation would assist the researchers in understanding how the health care provider’s thinking and behavior impact the patient care decision and the treatment approach.
results attained from the research showed that poor use and management of
patient information and poor communication pattern is a major contributor of
increased high readmission rate in the health sector. The finding also asserted that health care
providers tend to become more conservative when they are found in the situation
of patient readmission. Generally, the findings of the research have provided
proof that the rate of readmission in a health care facility may be used to
determine if the health services provided are of high quality.
Al-Amin, M. (2016). Hospital characteristics and 30-day all-cause readmission rates. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 11(10), 682-687. doi:10.1002/jhm.2606
Axon, R. N., & Williams, M. V. (2011). Hospital Readmission as an Accountability Measure. JAMA, 305(5), 504. doi:10.1001/jama.2011.72
Ballard-Hernandez, J. (2010). Nurse practitioners improving the transition from hospital to home and reducing acute care readmission rates in heart failure patients. Heart & Lung, 39(4), 365-366. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2010.05.031
Bottle, A., Aylin, P., & Bell, D. (2013). Predictors of Readmission in Heart Failure Patients Vary by Cause of Readmission: Hospital-Level Cause-Specific Readmission Rates Show No Correlation. 2013 IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics. doi:10.1109/ichi.2013.88
Lackey, T. L. (2015). How transitional care can be the answer to reducing hospital readmission. Heart & Lung, 44(6), 557-558. doi:10.1016/j.hrtlng.2015.10.035