title: Hospital readmissions among the elderly.
abstract: This paper investigates the six-month hospital readmission rates among 444 patients 65 years of age or older admitted to a large metropolitan teaching hospital who had a primary discharge diagnosis of cerebrovascular disease, hip fracture, or congestive heart failure. Twenty-four percent were readmitted to the same institution one or more times during the six-month follow-up. Striking variability was observed in use of hospitals across these diagnostic groups. Patients with a primary diagnosis of congestive heart failure were at highest risk of hospital readmission (36%). Multiple readmissions among the congestive heart failure group were prevalent. These preliminary data suggest that hospital readmission among the aged is a complex multifaceted phenomena.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure; D006620:Hip Fractures; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008404:Massachusetts; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors