Disadvantaged neighborhoods linked to higher readmission rates

Editor's Note

Residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood in Maryland and being discharged from a hospital serving a large proportion of disadvantaged neighborhoods were independently associated with increased risk of readmission in this study.

2015 data from Maryland hospitals showed a 14.1% 30-day readmission rate for patients living in neighborhoods in the 90th percentile of disadvantage, compared with 12.5% for those in more advantaged neighborhoods (10^th percentile).

Readmission rates for hospitals serving a high number of disadvantaged neighborhoods (90^th percentile of safety-net status) were 14.8%, compared with 11.6% for hospitals covering few disadvantaged neighborhoods (10^th percentile).

The association of readmission risk with the hospitals safety-net index was almost two times the association with the patient’s neighborhood disadvantage status, the authors note.