Simply type into Google ‘how to avoid readmission penalties’ and you will receive a plethora of articles about strategies and how-to’s. Many of these can have a significant impact on your practice when implemented. Unfortunately, there is generally not one single strategy that will produce the results you are searching for. Instead, your hospital or practice will need to implement several strategies and monitor for success.
7 effective strategies to avoid readmission penalties may include:
- Partnering with local hospitals and/or community physicians and physician groups
- Putting nurses in charge of medication reconciliation
- Clearly reviewing patient’s medications along with detailed instructions on how to take the medications and when
- Using the teach-back method in order for patients to demonstrate their comprehension of the information they were given and ask them to explain it
- Explaining and arranging for all follow-up visits before discharge
- Having a streamlined process in place to send all discharge summaries to the primary care physician
- Assigning team members to follow-up on test results following discharge
It’s hard to prevent readmissions, if we don’t understand why they’re happening in the first place. Here are four of the most common reasons why patients are readmitted, according to a study conducted by the Dartmouth Institute:
- Patients may not fully understand their condition or may be confused with which medications to take and when
- Hospitals do not provide patients or their doctors with necessary important information or test results
- Patients do not schedule follow-up appointments
- Family members or friends of the patient do not have the necessary knowledge needed to provide adequate care
HybridChart offers a solution to these problems addressing better care coordination and improving patient engagement during treatment and post discharge. As healthcare laws evolve, it becomes increasingly important to ensure you are effectively managing the discharge process to ensure your hospital readmission rates are low.
Significantly reduce your readmission penalties with HybridChart. One customer was able to reduce hospital readmission rates to 1/3 that of the national average! Ready to reduce yours? Watch a Recorded Demo Today!
HybridChart has an easy, flexible workflow already designed with the patient’s follow-up care in mind. Our system allows you to identify high risk patients and can be customized to automatically add specific protocols and processes for following up on these patients so you have the peace of mind that all steps are taken care of appropriately and those dreaded readmission penalties are a thing of the past.
Customers of HybridChart have significantly reduce their readmission penalties. One customer was able to reduce hospital readmission rates to 1/3 that of the national average! Ready to reduce yours? Watch a Recorded Demo Today!
- More About Dr. Sanders
Dr. Gregory Sanders is a Harvard-trained, practicing cardiologist and founder and CEO of HybridChart. He has been coding since the 1980s and has spent his medical career focusing on improving processes. His patient care skills earned him recognition as one of Phoenix Magazine’s TOP DOCs. He lives in Scottsdale with his family.