One of the major goals of the Thriving at Home approach that we follow at Assisting Hands is to avoid readmission to the hospital. Return trips increase costs and present considerable health risks.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reports that, on average, 14% of hospital stays result in readmissions. In 2018, that added up to 3.8 million visits, at an average cost per readmission of $15,200 [1]. According to Rehab Select, 15% of those readmissions are preventable, so there is plenty of room for improvement [2]. The top five reasons for readmissions are:

• Patient disengagement and non-compliance
• Condition complications
• Inadequate transition of care
• Misinterpretation of discharge instructions
• Demographic factors

Many of these reasons could be addressed with better communication between care providers. In Part 2, we will present strategies for making sure communication with your care providers is effective.

Sources:
1. https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb278-Conditions-Frequent-Readmissions-By-Payer-2018.jsp
2. https://blog.rehabselect.net/5-top-reasons-hospital-readmissions