All-Cause Admissions and Readmissions 

The Opportunity

Reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and readmissions is a key component of healthcare quality improvement. High rates of readmissions are not only costly to the healthcare system, but they also can indicate low-quality care during a prior hospital stay or poor care coordination. An unnecessary hospitalization causes patients stress and can expose them to additional medical risk. Certain strategies can succeed in reducing avoidable admissions and readmissions rates, such as improved communication of patient discharge instructions, coordination with post-acute care providers and primary care physicians, and reducing complications such as hospital-acquired conditions.^{1, 2}

This opportunity to improve quality and lower cost has made reducing unnecessary admissions and readmissions a focus of quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs.

NQF Related Work

• All Cause Admissions and Readmissions 2017 – 2017
• All Cause Admissions and Readmissions 2015-2017 – 2017
• All-Cause Admissions and Readmissions Measures – 2015
• Readmissions Action Pathway – 2014

Stay Connected

For more information, please contact readmissions@qualityforum.org.

1 Boccuti C, Casillas G. Aiming for Fewer Hospital U-turns: the Medicare Hospital Readmission Reduction Program. Washington, DC: Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF); 2017. Issue Brief. Available at http://kff.org/medicare/issue-brief/aiming-for-fewer-hospital-u-turns-the-medicare-hospital-readmission-reduction-program/. Last accessed March 2017.

2 McCarthy D, Cohen A, Johnson MB. Gaining Ground: Care Management Programs to Reduce Hospital Admissions and Readmissions among Chronically Ill and Vulnerable Patients. Washington, DC: Commonwealth Fund; 2013. Commonwealth Fund pub. 1658. Available at https://www.pcpcc.org/sites/default/files/1658_McCarthy_care_transitions_synthesis_v2.pdf. Last accessed July 2017.