Are New National Policies Designed to Reduce Hospital Readmissions Working?

March 5, 2013 - PRLog -- New Rochelle, NY–Reducing preventable hospital readmissions is a cornerstone of emerging healthcare policy. The U.S. government has developed payment policies that will decrease payments to hospitals with excess patient readmission levels, for example. Early lessons learned from these current policy initiatives hint at their likelihood for success and are examined in an insightful article in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Population Health Management website at http://www.liebertpub.com/pop.

In "Turning Readmission Reduction Policies into Results: Some Lessons from a Multistate Initiative to Reduce Readmissions," Jessica Mittler, PhD and coauthors from The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA), Weill Cornell Medical College (New York, NY), and University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (Philadelphia, PA) present findings to suggest that current readmissions policies will produce "uncertain success."

Mittler et al. identify three critical challenges that stand in the way of the success of current policies, and propose specific strategies and interventions based on the development of collaborative relationships within the medical community and more coordinated care, more evidence-based policy decisions, and the importance of targeting improvement and incentives to individual institutions.

“Medicare has wisely moved away from the traditional fee-for-service model. The future belongs to those providers who work to establish collaborative relationships across the care community and invest in programs that keep patients out of the hospital,” says Population Health Management Editor-in-Chief David B. Nash, MD, MBA, Dean and Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor, Jefferson School of Population Health, Philadelphia, PA.

About the Journal
Population Health Management is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published bimonthly in print and online that reflects the expanding scope of health care management and quality. The Journal delivers a comprehensive, integrated approach to the field of population health and provides information designed to improve the systems and policies that affect health care quality, access, and outcomes. Comprised of peer-reviewed original research papers, clinical research, and case studies, the content encompasses  a broad range of chronic diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic pain, diabetes, depression, and obesity) in addition to focusing on various aspects of prevention and wellness. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Population Health Management website at http://www.liebertpub.com/pop. Population Health Management is the Official Journal of the Care Continuum Alliance.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Journal of Women’s Health, Diabetes Technology & Therapeutics, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website at http://www.liebertpub.com.