How do you reduce hospital readmissions?

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal's administration plans to launch a program aimed at reducing hospital visits for patients with chronic disease, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports. During the 2009 legislative session, the state Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) received $10 million in state and federal appropriated funds to curb escalating Medicaid costs. The administration plans to use the funding to begin soliciting proposals from contractors to implement a disease management program that will target Medicaid beneficiaries with diabetes, asthma and congestive heart failure (CHF), which the DHH secretary notes are the leading causes of high-cost and frequent emergency department visits throughout the state. For more information, click here.

Several Michigan hospitals will soon begin participating in a three-state collaborative project aimed at reducing hospital readmissions, the Livonia Observer reports. The 15 Michigan health centers participating in the State Action on Avoidable Rehospitalizations (STAAR) project will seek to reduce 30-day rehospitalization rates by 30 percent. For more information, click here.


For information on INQRI-related work involving discharge, please click here.