Pennsylvania hospitals trim $700 million by cutting readmissions, report says
Health Care Cost Containment Council found that reductions in readmission rates fell sharply from from 2009 to 2014
Hospitals in Pennsylvania have saved close to $700 million in last few years by cutting down on readmission rates and preventing unnecessary hospitalizations, according to the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council.
The group found that reductions in readmission rates for seven of 13 conditions fell sharply from 2009 to 2014. Of those 13 conditions, only one -- chest pain -- showed an increase in readmission rates during the study's timeframe.
The group also looked at pneumonia, stroke and congestive heart failure.
The findings define a readmission to be when a patient is admitted to the hospital within 30 days of their initial discharge. For the purposes of this study, it considered all instances in which a patient was readmitted, whether or not it was for the same condition as the initial visit.
[Also: See which hospitals will be hit with readmission penalties in 2016 (Data)]
Martin Ciccocioppo, vice president of research at The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania said avoidable readmissions are down 29 percent over the past few years.
He also praised the transparency, availability and honesty of the information that was released.
"It demonstrates that hospitals are willing to put numbers in the public domain to show how we're doing," said Ciccocioppo. "This information is not generally available across the country."
[Also: Readmission penalties to hit nearly 3,000 hospitals, CMS says, totaling $420 million]
In addition to releasing numbers on readmission rates, the group's data include information on mortality rates, showing that Pennsylvania hospitals have lowered the mortality rates for 10 of 16 of the common medical conditions including acute kidney failure, septicemia and kidney and urinary tract infections.
Advancements in treatments for septicemia, an infection of the bloodstream, resulted in the most significant decrease in mortality rates. Meanwhile, incidents of septicemia increased by nearly 95 percent over the study's timespan and the mortality rate dropped from 17.7 percent to 11 percent. That translates into about 3,600 patients who survived the ailment, and who may not have done so five years ago.
[Also: Hospitals penalized twice for readmissions, study finds]
The data also show a 37 percent reduction in "harm events," which include surgical-site infections, falls and adverse drug effects.
Twitter: @JELagasse
