Hospital Readmission Roundup: Penalties Start Oct. 1, Perspectives and Considerations for SNFs

Lot's of news and analysis this week about Medicare reimbursement penalties for patient readmissions and the implications for SNFs and hospitals.

• Starting Oct. 1, about 2,000 hospitals will face tiered reimbursement penalties for readmitting too many patients with heart attacks, pneumonia and chronic heart failure. As a reminder of the challenge, we see that the best hospitals readmit 19 percent to 20 percent of heart failure patients within 30 days. As the McKnight's article observes, strong collaborative relationships and communication between SNFs and hospitals are more important than ever.
• Also, here is some solid analysis regarding variables that can unfairly skew readmission rates—lower income and minority populations, for example, tend to readmit at higher than average rates. Many question whether hospitals serving the neediest populations might face the greatest penalties. As the linked article notes, dual-eligible Medicaid/Medicare patients reflect the income disparity, with dual-eligibles readmitting at 23.8 percent compared to 17.3 percent of non-dual eligibles. (This is a key reason we enabled tracking of dual-eligible patients in our Referral Management System for SNF census building and admissions management.)
• Finally, an nice article about how the Advancing Excellence in America's Nursing Homes campaign works to reduce hospital readmissions. Click here to learn more about the mission and results of this organization.

Comments

[Carole Campbell]

With the penalties beginning in October, which should at this point not be a surprise to anyone why isn't the focus more on care coordination pre and post discharge with the hospital and nursing home systems? As a Geriatric Care Manager, CCM and RN with an extensive background in LTC, it should be a no-brainer to include those professionals in the mix. Talking to the hospitals and Case Managers has proven to be more than difficult, which is challenging to understand when we can provide the link that is so vital in these 30 days especially. Thoughts?

[Jackie Messer]

I think the connection can be made with creating a solid relationship with the hospitalist caring for the patient