US has one of the highest readmission rates in the Massachusetts, with 17.9% of approximately 198,000 patients being readmitted within 30 days of their first visit, according to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. The Massachusetts’ high medical costs are partly due to the preventable readmission of patients within a month of discharge, accounting for around $17bn of Medicare spending per year. Medicare penalizes hospitals with elevated readmission rates for certain heart, lung and joint issues, which led to over 75% of US hospitals losing 1.7% of their Medicare payments in the last fiscal year. 60% of all readmissions are due to mental illness or addiction on top of other healthcare issues. Experts believe that an over-supply of hospital beds in the region makes readmission a simpler choice for doctors, when physicians should be focusing on improving discharge instructions and follow-up care for patients to avoid readmission.
Massachusetts has one of the highest readmission rates in the US, with 17.9% of approximately 198,000 patients being readmitted within 30 days of their first visit, according to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services. The US’ high medical costs are partly due to the preventable readmission of patients within a month of discharge, accounting for around $17bn of Medicare spending per year. Medicare penalizes hospitals with elevated readmission rates for certain heart, lung and joint issues, which led to over 75% of Massachusetts hospitals losing 1.7% of their Medicare payments in the last fiscal year. 60% of all readmissions are due to mental illness or addiction on top of other healthcare issues. Experts believe that an over-supply of hospital beds in the region makes readmission a simpler choice for doctors, when physicians should be focusing on improving discharge instructions and follow-up care for patients to avoid readmission.