![\"Hospital](\"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/35-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cAs with many other quality measures, the HRRP has led to gamesmanship\u2026whereby hospitals have taken predictable actions in their coding practices and admission processes and protocols in an effort to minimize the probability of receiving penalties,\u201d Cram et al<\/em>. write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is time to refocus hospital quality improvement efforts where they can be most effective and beneficial, which means deemphasizing the HRRP,\u201d they state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research\u00a0indicates that previously-found reductions in hospital readmission rates may have been overstated and could be explained by changes in hospital delivery protocols and billing practices. Additionally, a 2019\u00a0study\u00a0has suggested that there has been an overall decrease in hospital readmissions among Medicare<\/a> beneficiaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moreover, hospitals are dedicating millions of dollars to preventing readmissions that are largely out of their control, the doctors say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGiven the challenge of making hospitals responsible for preventing readmissions and the limited success of HRRP, it is important to question whether health systems might be better served by directing their limited quality improvement resources, including both personnel and financial investments, toward improving aspects of care that they control more directly,\u201d they write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patient safety and quality practices, such as reoperative surgical and anesthesia checklists, clinical bundles and order sets to prevent catheter-associated infections, and expanded use of clinical pharmacists to reduce adverse drug events, may serve as better measurements of hospital quality, the doctors explain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOther potential opportunities for improvement, such as clinician and hospital personnel wellness, patient experience, addiction treatment services, and palliative care, also warrant attention,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That being said, the doctors do not call for the elimination of readmission rates from quality programs. Rather, it may be time to sunset HRRP as a stand-alone program and incorporate the readmissions ratio into other hospital value-based payment programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn 2010, reducing hospital readmission rates appeared to be a fruitful target for quality improvement. In 2022, after more than a decade of concerted effort, it is time to focus limited hospital resources on more tractable and evidence-based targets that are more directly under the control of hospitals,\u201d they conclude.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSource: Revcycle Intelligence<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"health](\"https:\/\/distilinfo.com\/healthplan\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/10\/37.jpg\")
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