Florida Hospitals Seek to Lower Readmission Rates

Florida hospitals are hoping a look at why patients are readmitted will curb their uncompensated care expense. The Florida Hospital Association said last week that it is forming a “collaborative” with the Agency for Health Care Administration and 3M Health Information systems to examine data on 2.2 million adults admitted to Florida hospitals. 

According to the AHCA, of the 2.2 million cases being reviewed, 877,228 patients were admitted for one of 54 procedures or conditions examined by AHCA. The agency said 61,000 readmissions were potentially preventable. 

Kim Streit, the FHA’s vice president of health care research and information, said examining information on readmissions is important given the additional costs incurred when patients return to the hospital because of complications that may have been prevented with better follow up care.

Florida hospitals doled out nearly $2.4 billion in uncompensated care expense in 2006, the last year for which complete data was available (“Florida Hospitals’ Uncompensated Care Cost Skyrocket,” May 6).  Much of that expense came from treating nearly 1.7 million uninsured patients, including more than 150,000 uninsured patients who were admitted for additional treatment.

Streit said it’s unknown what percentage of the 2.2 million Floridians that have been readmitted to hospitals are uninsured. However, she said she wouldn’t be surprised if a high percentage of uninsured patients were readmitted because they couldn’t afford medications, or get access to follow up care.

“Often times it’s an issue of expense,” Streit said. “But often times its trying to navigate what is a complicated system.”

Streit said the collaborative will focus on why patients are readmitted, identify steps that can be taken to ensure that patients don’t have to be readmitted, and share strategies effective in reducing readmissions. She said a component of the collaborative will look at public policy and how it can better address the community need to lower health care costs in the state.

“It might be worth paying for medication, rather than treating people again with an expensive hospital stay,” she said.
Streit said the initiative will get under way this summer and is expected to last 12 months.