Background
WVU Medicine/J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital experiences high 30-day readmission rates for patients discharged with a heart attack. Due to these rates, Medicare has imposed a financial penalty, putting the hospital at risk of financial loss. Implementing strategies aimed at lowering the readmission rate is necessary. In particular, it was noted that the factors contributing to a high readmission rate are patients’ lack of education regarding their condition and the lack of coordination between healthcare providers. Thus, strategies aimed at improving these two factors are suggested.
Improving Patient Education
Improving patient education is a crucial tactic to lower readmission rates for individuals discharged with a heart attack. It is necessary to ensure patients comprehend their conditions and at-home self-care by giving thorough discharge instructions and creating specialized educational materials (Warchol et al., 2019). The provided materials should be aimed at giving patients an understanding of what they can do to avoid readmission.
Advantages
- Improved patient education results in better chronic condition self-management, which lowers the risk of future heart attacks.
- Patients with an improved understanding of what type of home care they need tend to experience less stress and health-related anxiety.
Disadvantages
- Creating educational materials explicitly aimed at patients discharged with a heart attack may be expensive.
- Reaching every patient, especially those who live in distant places or have limited internet connections, could be challenging.
Approximate Cost
The cost of creating and delivering patient education materials will vary depending on the particular requirements of our patient population. Additionally, providing more follow-up appointments might necessitate using more of the medical staff’s time (Vernon et al., 2019). The estimated cost can range from $10,000 to $50,000, depending on the quantity and extent of the training materials and appointment availability.
Coordinating Care with Community Providers
Care coordination with local providers must be improved to lower readmission rates. Coordination between the hospital and community-based providers can be improved by establishing systems for exchanging patient information, monitoring progress, and guaranteeing a unified care plan for patients admitted with a heart attack (Budlong et al., 2018).
Advantages
- Patients discharged with a heart attack need a specific care plan that is appropriate for their condition, specifically; thus, if the providers coordinate appropriate care, the recovery is more likely to be successful.
- Healthcare costs for readmitted heart attack patients are high; thus, if care is coordinated and recovery is more successful, the costs will decrease.
Disadvantages
- Systems for sharing patient data and monitoring progress must be developed, which takes time and money. Moreover, if the coordination system is developed only for heart attack patients, similar systems will need to be elaborated on for other conditions in the future as well.
- It might be challenging to get all the medical staff engaged in the patient’s care to agree on a coordinated action plan (Synhorst et al., 2020).
Approximate Cost
The hospital’s requirements will determine the cost of developing software for exchanging patient information and monitoring progress. When software licensing fees, implementation costs, and training costs are considered, the approximate cost can range from $50,000 to $200,000 per project.
Conclusion
We can lower readmission rates and assist WVU Medicine/J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in avoiding the financial penalties imposed by Medicare by putting into practice strategies like enhancing patient education and coordinating care with neighborhood providers. The two primary causes of high readmission rates are intended to be addressed by the current strategies. Although these tactics have some disadvantages, such as the potential for increased expenses, it was determined that they must be used after a thorough analysis of the existing situation and the effects of a high readmission rate.
References
Budlong, H., Brummel, A., Rhodes, A., and Nici, H. (2018). Impact of comprehensive medication management on hospital readmission rates. Population Health Management. Web.
Synhorst, D. C., Hall, M., Harris, M., Gay, J. C., Peltz, A., Auger, K. A., Morse, R. B. (2020). Hospital observation status and readmission rates. Pediatrics, 146(5). Web.
Vernon, D., Brown, J. E., Griffiths, E., Nevill, A. M., and Pinkney, M. (2019). Reducing readmission rates through a discharge follow-up service. Future Healthcare Journal, 6(2), 114–117. Web.
Warchol, S. J., Monestime, J. P., Mayer, R. W., and Chien, W. W. (2019). Strategies to reduce hospital readmission rates in a non-Medicaid-expansion State. Perspectives in health information management, 16.