Is Hrrp successful?

The HRRP not only demonstrated significant reductions in readmission rates for the targeted medical conditions but also had a notable spillover effect to nontargeted conditions,2 including surgical procedures.

What is a readmission audit?

Readmission reviews are designed to elicit the “story behind the story”: going well beyond chief complaint, discharge diagnosis, or other clinical parameters to understand the communication, coordination, or other logistical barriers experienced in the days after a patient’s discharge that resulted in a readmission.

Is Medicare readmission program effective?

Results. There have been statistically significant reductions in readmission rates overall as well as for vulnerable populations, especially for acute myocardial infarction patients in hospitals serving the largest percentage of low-income patients and high-risk patients.

How do you evaluate the readmission rate?

The Observed Readmission Rate is the percentage of acute inpatient stays during the measurement year that were followed by an unplanned acute readmission for any diagnosis within 30 days. It is equal to the Count of 30-Day Readmissions (Column 2) divided by the Count of Index Hospital Stays (Column 1).

Why is Hrrp important?

Why is the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program important? HRRP improves Americans’ health care by linking payment to the quality of hospital care. CMS incentivizes hospitals to improve communication and care coordination efforts to better engage patients and caregivers on post-discharge planning.

What is the aim of the hospital readmissions reduction program Hrrp )?

The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) is a Medicare value-based purchasing program that encourages hospitals to improve communication and care coordination to better engage patients and caregivers in discharge plans and, in turn, reduce avoidable readmissions.

What is readmission rate an indicator of?

As readmissions vary widely across countries, regions and centers, at least part of them might be avoidable [2]–[6]. As a consequence, there is a high interest in the readmission rate as an indicator of quality of hospital care.

What is a coding audit?

A medical coding audit is a process that includes internal or external reviews of medical coding and billing accuracy, procedures or policies in place, and any other component that affects the medical record documentation.

Why is reducing readmissions important?

Reducing hospital readmissions—especially those that result from poor inpatient or outpatient care—has long been a health policy goal because it represents an opportunity to lower health care costs, improve quality, and increase patient satisfaction at once.

What is an acceptable readmission rate?

Beyond the government sector, studies have found that 15 to 25 percent of people discharged from a hospital will be readmitted within 30 days or less and that a large number of those readmissions are preventable.

How do readmissions affect hospitals?

Readmissions have a negative impact on revenue, due to penalties charged by CMS and other payers. Hospitals in the highest quartile for quality typically have lower readmission rates. HealthStream shared in an earlier post that hospitals caring for the neediest patients are likely to pay readmission penalties.