Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

Focus on Reducing Readmissions them to be successful in managing their disease," Dr. Gulati says. Patient engagement can increase patient satisfaction because patients feel more in control, and can improve long-term outcomes. What's in a name? Empowerment The name of the transition program itself also promotes patient engagement and empowerment, according to Dr. Gulati. He says that while it may 11 seem "corny," it was chosen very deliberately. "'Failure' is not a good term for patients having a good outlook. There's a negative connotation even though everybody uses [the term 'heart failure']. We wanted to empower patients from a psychological standpoint." Focusing on heart success instead of heart failure may help patients think more positively about their condition and their ability to manage the disease. n Study: Wide Variation in Implementation of Strategies to Reduce Readmissions Study Finds Social Factors Linked to Hospital Readmissions, Mortality By Jaimie Oh By Jaimie Oh  R esearch published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology suggests there is wide variation in hospitals implementing effective strategies to reduce hospital readmissions. For the study, researchers administered an online survey to 537 hospitals participating in the Hospital to Home quality improvement project to determine how hospitals implement quality improvement resources and performance monitoring, medication management efforts and discharge and follow-up processes. The results of the feedback show almost all (90 percent) of hospitals indicated they had a written objective to reduce preventable hospital readmissions for patients with heart failure or acute myocardial infarction. However, hospitals have much-less frequently implemented strategies to meet that objective. For example, while hospitals have created teams to target readmissions for patients with heart failure 87 percent of the time, hospitals have done the same for patients with AMI only 54 percent of the time. In addition, less than half of hospitals have partnered with local physicians and less than one-quarter of hospitals have partnered with other local hospitals to coordinate care for high-risk patients. Less than one-third of hospitals linked inpatient and outpatient prescription records or always directly sent discharge summaries to the patient's primary physicians. n R esearchers have determined a range of social factors are associated with increased risk of hospital readmissions or mortality, according to a study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. For the study, researchers mined the OVID, PubMed and PSYCHINFO databases for studies published from 1980 to 2012 on the subject of readmissions. Seventy-two articles were ultimately chosen for conclusion in this study. They found the following key points: • tudies often, but inconsistently, cited lower education, low income, S and unemployment as linked to higher readmissions for communityacquired pneumonia patients. • n addition, low income was associated with higher mortality for comI munity-acquired pneumonia patients. • edicaid coverage, low income and rural living situation, lack of social M support, being unmarried and portraying risky behaviors were also associated with higher readmissions for heart failure patients. • imilar factors contributed to higher risk of mortality for heart failure S patients, in addition to psychiatric comorbidities, lack of home resources and further living distance to hospitals. n REGISTER TODAY! Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting CEO Strategy, ACOs, PhysicianHospital Integration, Improving Profits and Key Specialties 83 Health System Executives as Speakers Co-Chaired by Chuck Lauer and Scott Becker May 9-11, 2013; Chicago Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago For more information and to register, visit: www.beckershospitalreview.com/4th-annual-beckers-hospital-review-meeting.html

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