Hospital Compare Web site adds new readmission data

Yesterday the Hospital Quality Alliance announced the addition of new data available on the CMS Hospital Compare Web site. The general public, as well as the medical field, can now log on and compare hospital readmission rates for Medicare patients suffering from a heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia. The data show readmissions within 30 days of discharge from any facility, even if patients do not return to the hospital from which they originally were cared for.  This data, collected from  Medicare billing records from July 2005 through June 2008, will provide consumers the ability to make a more educated decision about where they want to seek care.

Readmission rates have become a focus of many prominent groups of late. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year revealed that 20% of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within a month of being discharged, and 34% are readmitted within three months (see an earlier blog post on this announcement).  The CMS launched a pilot project earlier this year to reduce readmissions by working with 14 Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO). The IHI has launched an initiative called STAAR, which stands for State Action on Avoidable Rehospitalizations. 

Additionally, the Obama administration is eyeing rehospitalizations as something that could be financially penalized. Rehospitalizations represent a significant amount of money spent (an extra $17.4 billion in 2004) and an example of how the current health system fails at treating patients in all areas of life and paying particular attention to transitions in care.

Those who log on will find that hospitals’ readmission rates for the conditions listed above are rated as “no different than the U.S. national rate,” “better than the U.S. national rate” or “worse than the U.S. national rate”. Users then have the option to view specific percentages in graphs and tables for the hospitals they have selected to compare.

“”America’s hospitals have long been committed to improving patient care and welcome the
opportunity to use all of the information on the Hospital Compare Web site to gain new insights
into how to strengthen quality,” said Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “In particular, the new information on readmission rates gives hospitals a broad look at how their patients receive care both inside a hospital and after they have been discharged. With the new information now in hand, hospitals will seek to understand why patients are readmitted and how some of those readmissions can be prevented through appropriate changes in care delivery.”

Any reaction to this latest release of quality information on the Hospital Compare Web site?