Gallup offers best practices for reducing patient readmissions

High readmissions rates can be costly to hospitals due to financial penalties imposed by the CMS. Although not all readmissions can be prevented, poor quality of care or insufficient coordination of post-discharge care may result in a high rate of readmission.

To help improve care and reduce costs associated with them, Gallup recently identified four factors that influence readmissions:

·         Involving the patient’s social network, family, and friends

·         Using an effective discharge process

·         Getting to know your patients

·         Building the right discharge team

 

For each of the four factors, Gallup provided best practices that could help reduce readmission rates and improve quality of care if followed.