Complimentary from the publishers of ReadmissionsNews                    July 17, 2012
	"For five years I have asked patients that I readmit to the hospital why they returned so soon after discharge. The top two answers from patients coming from home are some version of: (1) ‘I wasn't feeling well (i.e., I'm worse, or not getting better as fast as I think I should) so I thought I should come back’ or (2) ‘someone (my doctor, an office RN, a home health RN) told me to go to the ED.’ Patients presenting from nursing homes or SNFs also have two primary answers: (1) ‘We (usually the family/caregivers) didn't like the facility, so we called 911 to return to the ED’ or (2) ‘They noticed something was wrong (fever, labs, confusion) and sent me in to be checked out.’ Once in the ED, a recently discharged elder is highly likely to end up being admitted. We still assume that there is an unresolved clinical issue that led the patient back to the ED. In fact, root cause analysis reveals logistical, communication, or social support issues predominate.” Amy Boutwell, MD, MPP, Founder and President, Collaborative Healthcare Strategies
	Some 19% of all Medicare patients entering the hospital will be back within 30 days, and 34% within 90 days, costing America $19 billion per year Excerpted from: Readmissions News, Volume 1, Number 6, July, 2012, Scaling Project RED and Project BOOST: Eight Ways that Technology can Help Reduce Readmissions
	Reducing Readmissions from Long-Term Care Hospitals and Health Networks, July 12, 2012
	Highmark program adds required readmission tracking Central Penn Business Journal, July 11, 2012
	Feature: Many readmissions after heart attack not due to index MI Cardiovascular Business, July 9, 2012
	Follow Up Calls Predict Readmissions For Hospitals PRWeb, July 9, 2012
	Program shows reductions in hospital readmissions ‎Democrat and Chronicle, July 9, 2012
	NQF stands by readmissions measure Healthcare Finance News, July 2, 2012
	Readmissions: The Price of Doing Business? by Jaan Sidorov, MD, FACP Scaling Project RED and Project BOOST: Eight Ways That Technology Can Help Reduce Readmissions by Joanne Rohde Editor’s Corner - Martin S. Kohn, MD, MS, FACEP, CPE, FACPE Family Member Involvement- A Key to Successful Hospital-to-Home Transitions by Lily Sarafan, MS Thought Leader’s Corner: "If you had to pick the top two factors affecting an unplanned hospital readmission, what would they be?" Industry News with briefs regarding National Quality Forum; Annals of Internal Medicine; Health Affairs; Canadian Institute for Health Information; Quality Net; AHA; State of California; Intermountain Healthcare; American Association of Respiratory Care; Cipher Health; Axial Exchange and Mayo Clinic; State of New York; and Sentara Healthcare Catching Up with…. Cheri A. Lattimer, RN, BSN Click here to view page one of this issue Click here to subscribe to Readmissions News, or find out more
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