Complimentary from the publishers of ReadmissionsNews                April, 2014
	"The Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB) can help healthcare organizations understand the role readmissions play in episodes of care. Unfortunately, CMS does not specifically pull out the readmissions in the MSPB data set for hospitals. Hospitals must back into this information by using the data sets provided by CMS. Focusing on disease specific episodes will help hospitals to further explore the MSPB data sets. Once disease specific episodes are prioritized, analyzing the data for trends related to spending falls into place. The MSPB data sets provide drill down capability including the identification of the hospitals and acute rehabilitation facilities in a specific episode by using the CMS CCN number. Hospitals can use this information to understand utilization of post acute services and their potential effect on readmissions. This measure is included in VBP starting in FY2015, but also will be included in the Physician Value Modifier program.” Jacqueline Matthews, MS, BSN, Senior Director, Quality Reporting and Reform, Cleveland Clinic.
	"The average hospital discharges patients to more than 60 post-acute facilities and agencies with nearly 40% of patients discharged into post-acute care nationally." Excerpted from: Readmissions News, Volume 3, Number 4, April 2014, "Building Dynamic Post-Acute Partnerships to Reduce Readmissions"
	Manual and automated methods for identifying potentially preventable readmissions BMC Medical Informatics & Decision Making, April 5, 2014
	The State of Readmissions [infographic] Vree Health, April 4, 2014
	MSPB Adds Nuance to Readmission Rates HealthLeaders Media, April 2, 2014
	Studies Highlight Innovative Strategies for Reducing Hospital Readmissions Cardiosource/ACC.14 Meeting Coverage, April 1, 2014
	Impact of Prior Admissions on Readmissions in Medicare Heart Failure Inpatients Mayo Clinic Proceedings, abstract only, March 31, 2014
	Op-Ed: Is Nutrition the First Step in Addressing Hospital Readmissions? U.S. News and World Report, March 18, 2014
	Building Dynamic Post-Acute Partnerships to Reduce Readmissions by Jared Landis and Harrison Brown Inside and Outside the Hospital’s Walls: Telehealth Reinvents the Continuum of Care by Brian Rosenfeld, MD The Editor’s Corner: Eric Heil, MBA on RightCare Reducing Hospital Readmissions Using Predictive Modeling and Real Time IT Solutions by Brian Barberic, BSBA Thought Leader’s Corner: “The Medicare Spending Per Beneficiary (MSPB) includes the total costs from 3 days prior to admission to 30 days after admission and includes all costs, including post-acute. What impact might inclusion of this metric in hospital payments under Value Based Purchasing have on hospital readmissions strategies?” Industry News with briefs regarding Beth Deaconess Medical Center; Mayo Clinic; Walgreens; Boston University School of Medicine and the British Medical Journal; Cleveland Clinic; Journal of Urology; BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making; Community EMS; Healthcare IT Connect; and Community Continuum of Care Catching up with … Karen Joynt, MD, MPH Click here to view page one of this issue Click here to subscribe to Readmissions News, or find out more
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