Dive Brief: A new study in Health Affairs lends weight to the value of health information exchanges (HIE) in improving patient outcomes. Using state-level data for 2011-2014, the authors measured the effect of hospital participation in HIEs on quality and health outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. Those that participated had a… Read More »
January 08, 2019 Share this content: Glucocorticoids reduced the rate of hospital return visits and admissions compared with placebo in children with croup. Children with croup who were administered glucocorticoids had reduced symptoms at 2 through 24 hours and lower rates of return hospital visits and admissions, according to a clinical analysis published in Annals… Read More »
Dive Brief: New evidence links CMS’ Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program to unintended harm in some patients, a JAMA editorial suggests. Researchers analyzed 8.3 million hospitalizations of Medicare enrollees for heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia over four periods from April 2005 through March 2015. Thirty-day post-discharge mortality for heart failure patients rose following announcement… Read More »
Preventing avoidable readmissions is a focal point of most, if not all health systems big and small. These episodes are often costly to the patient and provider and open up additional opportunities for exposure to hospital-acquired infections. However, some patient populations, especially those with chronic disease and those impeded by socioeconomic factors, are even more… Read More »