 Risk-adjusted readmission rates can be easily computed and tracked from computerized hospital discharge data, using validated models. As part of the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program HRRP effective in fiscal year 2013, United States hospitals with higher than expected 30-day readmission rates after pneumonia hospitalization have been subject to financial penalties from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS. The underlying logic of the HRRP is based upon the notion that short-term readmission is often a preventable adverse outcome, reflecting suboptimal quality of care during index hospitalization. Yet, published evidence suggests that less than one in four all-cause readmissions are deemed avoidable. Because only avoidable readmissions can be influenced by interventions designed to decrease readmission rates, avoidable readmission is a more relevant metric than all-cause readmission for tracking quality of hospital care for pneumonia. 