<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b><\/p>\n
THURSDAY, Dec. 27, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Announcement and implementation of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) were associated with increased 30-day postdischarge mortality following hospitalization for heart failure and pneumonia, but not acute myocardial infarction (AMI), according to a study published in the Dec. 25 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Rishi K. Wadhera, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined trends in patient mortality for fee-for-service hospitalizations of Medicare beneficiaries before HRRP (April 2005 to September 2007 [period 1] and October 2007 to March 2010 [period 2]), after the HRRP announcement (April 2010 to September 2012 [period 3]), and after HRRP implementation (October 2012 to March 2015 [period 4]).<\/p>\n
The researchers found an increase in 30-day postdischarge mortality among patients with heart failure before the HRRP announcement (0.27 percent increase from period 1 to period 2); HRRP announcement and implementation correlated with significant increases in postdischarge mortality (0.49 percent increase from period 2 to period 3; 0.52 percent increase from period 3 to period 4). Among patients with AMI, a decline in postdischarge mortality was seen in association with the HRRP announcement (0.18 percent pre-HRRP increase versus 0.08 percent post-HRRP announcement decrease); there was no significant change after HRRP implementation. For pneumonia, postdischarge mortality was stable from period 1 to period 2 and increased significantly after HRRP announcement and implementation (0.26 percent increase and 0.44 percent increase, respectively).<\/p>\n
“Further research is needed to understand whether the increase in 30-day postdischarge mortality is a result of the HRRP,” the authors write.<\/p>\n
Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.<\/p>\n
Abstract\/Full Text<\/a><\/p>\n Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n