title: Learning about 30-day readmissions from patients with repeated hospitalizations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the population of inpatients with multiple hospitalizations at a large urban medical center in order to understand the types of patients who are at highest risk for 30-day readmission.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive retrospective cohort analysis using hospital administrative data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Bivariate analysis of clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of 19,049 adult inpatients discharged with a medical MS-DRG between July 1, 2009, and December 2010, and all subsequent inpatient admissions in the 180 days following each index discharge.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with 6 or more stays (very frequent readmissions) represented 0.8% of patients and 17.3% of 30-day readmissions. Those with 3 to 5 stays (frequent readmissions) comprised 9.4% of patients and 54.3% of 30-day readmissions. These patients differed significantly from those who had fewer hospitalizations with respect to age, race/ethnicity, gender, English proficiency, and insurance type.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most 30-day readmissions are experienced by patients who have multiple, frequent hospital admissions. Efforts to reduce readmissions must look beyond the current focus on a single hospital discharge and transition period.
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 6500 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1220, Los Angeles, CA 90048. E-mail: Jeanne.Black@cshs.org.
authors.forename: Jeanne T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Black
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013997:Time Factors