As a way to promote quality of care, find gaps in coordination and communication, and reduce costs, preventing avoidable readmissions is always a lively conversation in the healthcare field. According to a 2005 MedPAC study, Medicare paid $15 million in readmissions, $12 million of which is estimated could have been avoided. New research involving registered nurses and patients’ medication might prove useful for hospitals implementing future preventable readmissions initiatives.
Background:
Preventing readmissions has always been a hot topic, especially of late as government and state sponsored programs, like STAAR, have shown promising results. However, it’s important to realize not all readmissions are preventable.
There are types of planned readmissions prior to discharge to continue care for a patient, there are those readmissions unrelated to patients’ initial hospitalization, and then there are those that are related to the initial hospitalization such as medication issues, uncertainty about post discharge procedure and more. It is this last type of readmission that hospitals have the best chance of preventing and are focusing on.
New Research:
A new study published in the Journal of Nursing Quality Care advocates having a registered nurse supervise patients’ medication management post discharge. An easy-to-follow medication routine is not always ensured to patients after they leave the hospital so researchers used a nurse-pharmacist group to oversee medication throughout the post discharge process.
Nurses were instructed to contact patients 48 hours after hospital discharge as well as visit patients at home within 14 days to conduct a medication interview. They gauged whether patients had acquired their prescriptions, how they organized their medication regimen, if they acquired refills and how often they took their medication.
How Hospitals Can Learn:
• Researchers found nurses not only detected medication inconsistencies, but were able to remedy them, as well as supported patients in filling and taking their prescribed medications properly.
• Nurses streamlined the transfer of information to patients’ primary care providers.
• Communicating in-person appeared more useful than phone calls when it came to nurses teaching patients about their medication and helping them stay on par with their medication routine.
By informing patients and patients’ families about what is to happen and future treatment steps to take, patient satisfaction can be increased and avoidable readmissions can be reduced.
James Ellis, CEO, Health Care Realty Development Company, is a nationally recognized successful real estate investor and developer of medical office properties with a comprehensive knowledge of sophisticated real estate transactions, cost effective designs, and efficient property management.
Aaron Razavi is Associate Marketing Director at Health Care Realty Development.
Visit their blog at http://www.hcrealty.com/medicalrealestatedevelopment/