title: Readmission reduction has begun and the penalties will escalate.
abstract: Two-thirds of hospitals in the United States are losing reimbursement on each Medicare discharge as a result of their performance on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid readmission reduction program--and the penalties and diagnoses included will only escalate. Hospitals and case managers have to make a paradigm change and focus not only on moving patients through the continuum but keeping them from returning to the hospital, some experts say. Reach out to post-acute providers and make sure that they have the information they need to care for patients at the next level of care and that patients aren't receiving follow-up calls from multiple sources. Analyze all readmissions to determine why patients came back and take steps to improve your processes.
mesh_terms: D019090:Case Management; D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D004469:Economics, Hospital; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000191:economics*; D012052:Reimbursement, Incentive / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014481:United States