Study Examines Hospital Readmission and Mortality Rates For Medicare Patients

Study Examines Hospital Readmission and Mortality Rates For Medicare Patients:

In a study that included data on nearly 3 million hospital admissions for Medicare beneficiaries with heart attack, pneumonia or heart failure, researchers failed to find evidence that a hospital's performance on the measure for 30-day mortality rates was strongly associated with performance on 30-day readmission rates, findings that may lessen concerns that hospitals with lower mortality rates will have higher readmission rates, according to a study appearing in the February 13 issue of JAMA.