Medicare Readmission Rate 17.5% In 2013, An 8% Drop In Two Years

Medicare 30-day, all-cause readmission rates were 17.5% as of December 2013, representing an eight percent drop in the readmission rate since 2011. The 30-day readmission rate was 19% from 2007 through 2011, and it decreased to 18.5% in 2012. The incidence of hospital acquired conditions dropped by nine-percent between 2010 and 2012. In 2010, there were 145 hospital-acquired conditions for every 1,000 discharges, about 4.7 million in total. Hospital-acquired conditions include adverse drug events, falls, and infections. Data from 2012, the most recent available, indicates that the rate has dropped . . .