Many All-Cause Hospitalizations & Emergency Department Visits Among Severely Functionally Impaired Or Terminally Ill Nursing Home Residents Are Potentially Avoidable

Among nursing home residents with severe functional impairment or a terminal illness, who were hospitalized for any reason (an all-cause hospitalization), about one-in-three of the hospitalizations were potentially avoidable, according to a recent study. About 70% to 80% of emergency department visits among these residents met the criteria for being potentially avoidable. The most common diagnoses associated with a potentially avoidable hospitalization were pneumonia and other infections, shortness of breath/respiratory failure, and altered mental status, the study stated. Understanding the specific diagnoses associated with these potentially avoidable events can help target educational and quality improvement efforts . . .