WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 1 million Americans wind up back in the hospital only weeks after they left for reasons that could have been prevented — a revolving door that for years has seemed impossible to slow.
Now Medicare has begun punishing hospitals with hefty fines if they have too many readmissions, and a top official says signs of improvement are beginning to emerge.
I think a major reason for readmission is the lack of education for the patients. Because of this, they don’t ‘own’ their disease and try to do everything they can to prevent more problems. While a step to have nurses do home visits to see how they do at home after a hospital stay is a helpful (and perhaps necessary step), I think that an efficient patient education system needs to be put into place– not just a up-to-date handout.