Jul

02

Virtual patient advocate could reduce readmissions

By Case Management Weekly

The spotlight’s shining on readmission rates. A Commonwealth Fund–supported study published in the April New England Journal of Medicine found that one-fifth of Medicare beneficiaries return to the hospital within 30 days of discharge and one-third return within 90 days. The study stated that unplanned readmissions cost Medicare $17.4 billion in 2004.

Developed by Timothy Bickmore, PhD, assistant professor of computer and information science at Northeastern University in Boston, the virtual patient advocate is on clinical trial at Boston Medical Center to increase patient understanding of postdischarge self-care regimens. Bickmore and his team of researchers hope the system can decrease patient readmissions within 30 days of hospital discharge.

“Nationally, it’s been shown that about 20% of patients get readmitted within 30 days,” says Bickmore, who adds that one-third of those readmissions are preventable. “There is a lot of information patients need to know before they go home. The typical discharge in the [United States] lasts about eight minutes and it’s like, ‘Here are your prescriptions and a pat on the back.’ ”

Check out the July 2009 issue of Case Management Monthly to read the full article.