Hospitals with high readmission rates penalized for the patients they serve

Editor's Note

Hospitals with high readmission rates are being penalized largely because of the patients they serve, this study finds.

The results showed that Medicare patients admitted to hospitals with higher readmission rates were more likely to have characteristics associated with a higher probability of readmission, such as more chronic conditions, less education, fewer assets, worse self-reported health status, more depressive symptoms, worse cognition and physical functioning, and more difficulties with daily living activities. 

This survey data-based study from the Health and Retirement Study and linked Medicare claims for participants who were hospitalized from 2009 to 2012 assessed the extent to which a comprehensive set of patient characteristics accounts for differences in hospital readmission rates.