Thursday, July 16, 2009

Watch those bounce backs

Out the door, out of mind. That's all too often the attitude of social workers, case managers, administrators and, yes, even doctors, when it comes to Medicare patients. If they bounce back tomorrow, well, hey, it's a new day, a new admitting team and, most importantly, a new DRG. As hospitalists under the perverse prospective payment system we're under pressure to discharge patients quicker and sicker.

All that may change. Medicare may penalize hospitals with high readmission rates or, worse, bundle episodes of care over 30 day periods. Here's Erik DeLue's analysis in Today's Hospitalist.

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