Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Data Brief--Readmissions

In late 2010, NAPH administered an online survey to quality directors (or their designee) at 101 NAPH member organizations to gather information about their ongoing activities to reduce readmissions. Respondents from 51 safety-net facilities completed the survey, a group that is representative of all NAPH members on characteristics like bed size, geographic location, margin and performance on publicly reported readmission rates. However, compared to the average NAPH member the respondents are more likely to be academic medical centers and have slightly more inpatient discharges for patients covered by commercial insurance. The survey asked quality directors to describe how they are focusing their efforts to reduce readmissions, barriers to doing so, and strategies for success. The survey's findings presented in this data brief reflect safety-net hospital commitment and allocation of scarce resources toward addressing readmissions for complex patient populations.