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. 2014 May-Jun;29(3):220-6.
doi: 10.1177/1062860613496135. Epub 2013 Aug 16.

Preventability of 30-day readmissions for heart failure patients before and after a quality improvement initiative

Jason Ryan  1 , Rebecca Andrews, Mary Beth Barry, Sangwook Kang, Aline Iskandar, Priti Mehla, Raj Ganeshan
Affiliations

Preventability of 30-day readmissions for heart failure patients before and after a quality improvement initiative

Jason Ryan et al. Am J Med Qual. 2014 May-Jun.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to estimate the frequency of heart failure (HF) readmissions that can be prevented through a quality improvement (QI) program. All HF patients at the University of Connecticut Health Center who had a readmission within 30 days of discharge in the year before (2008) and the year after (2011) a QI program were studied. Through chart review, the percentage of patients who had preventable readmissions in each year was estimated. Prior to the QI initiative, chart reviewers identified that 20% to 30% of readmissions were preventable. The decrease in readmissions after the QI program was similar at 28%. Fewer readmissions after the QI initiative were deemed preventable compared with before. In conclusion, this study found a percentage of preventable readmissions similar to the actual 28% reduction in readmissions after a QI program was launched. Preventable readmissions were less common after the QI program was in place.

Keywords: heart failure; preventability; readmissions.

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