Jul

13

CMS now reports readmissions data

By Andrea Kraynak, CPC-A

CMS released a statement on Thursday, July 9, saying that its Hospital Compare Web site will now contain data reporting how frequently patients return to a hospital after being discharged, “a possible indicator of how well the facility did the first time around,” says the statement.

The statement goes on to say that, on average, one in five Medicare beneficiaries discharged from a hospital is readmitted within a month.  President Obama and Congress are focusing on reducing readmissions as a way to improve quality and achieve cost savings, according to the statement.

Hospital Compare data show that 19.9% of patients admitted to a hospital for heart attack treatment will return to the hospital within 30 days, 24.5% of patients admitted for heart failure will return to the hospital within 30 days, and 18.2% of patients admitted for pneumonia will return to the hospital within 30 days.

“Research has shown that hospital readmissions are reducing the quality of healthcare while increasing hospital costs,” the statement reports.

“Providing readmission rates by hospital will give consumers even better information with which to compare local providers,” said Charlene Frizzera, CMS Acting Administrator. “Readmission rates will help consumers identify those providers in the community who are furnishing high-value healthcare with the best results.”

CMS has also changed the way it calculates mortality rates. In past years, it used only one year of claims data to compute mortality, while now it will use three years of claims data.

CMS says that reporting three-year mortality data will also help inform the public about hospital quality. Using the three-year data method, CMS estimates that the national 30-day mortality rate for patients originally admitted for heart attack care is 16.6%. For heart failure patients, the national 30-day mortality rate is 11.1%, and for pneumonia patients, the national rate is 11.5%.

The Hospital Compare Web site will show whether a hospital’s mortality or readmissions rate is “better than,” “no different from,” or “worse than” the U.S. national rate.

Hospital Compare also includes 10 measures that capture patient satisfaction with hospital care, 25 process of care measures, and two children’s asthma care measures. The site also features information about the number of selected elective hospital procedures provided to patients and what Medicare pays for those services.

The Hospital Compare Web site can be found at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.