Hospital readmission is the situation in which an individual who had been discharged by the healthcare staff is admitted again in the same hospital for a specified period of time. The rates of hospital readmission are being applied to measure the outcome of healthcare research as well as the benchmark for quality services for healthcare systems. Most of the healthcare centers have been punished under the patient protection and affordable act of 2010 if their readmission rates are higher than the stipulated rates. Thus, most healthcare organizations have introduced programs to reduce the rates of readmission and to improve the quality of services. Hospital readmission has proved problematic not only for the healthcare providers, patients, players, policymakers, but also the family of the patients. This is because hospital readmissions are not only expensive (Birmingham & Oglesby, 2018), but they are also an indication of inefficiency and poor quality in healthcare centers (Khouri Jr et al. 2017). It should be noted that Medicare program pays for almost all the readmission expect if an individual is readmitted within less than 24 hours after the first discharge for the same medical condition in which he or she had been hospitalized.
My experience with readmission has been worst since I was the one who got the first-hand experience. I was diagnosed initially with acute malaria. After two weeks I was readmitted again for the same reason. After an inquiry from the hospital management as to why was being readmitted for a similar condition, I was informed that the healthcare provider who handled my case did not effectively treat for the disease. This experience was terrifying since I lost confidence with the providers as I was not sure they would do the same mistake.
Hospital readmission after more than one day
Currently, hospital readmission after more than one day is normally catered for financially by an individual through Medicare program in the United States of America. For the individuals who are not in Medicare program, the readmission is the sole responsibility of the patient. This situation is normally burdening for the patient who has to use a lot of money treating the same condition in which they were initially hospitalized (Shebehe & Hansson, 2018).
References
Birmingham, L. E., & Oglesby, W. H. (2018). Readmission rates in not-for-profit vs. proprietary hospitals before and after the hospital readmission reduction program implementation. BMC Health Services Research, 18, 1–N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-2840-4
Khouri Jr, R. K., Hechuan Hou, Dhir, A., Andino, J. J., Dupree, J. M., Miller, D. C., … Hou, H. (2017). What is the impact of a clinically related readmission measure on the assessment of hospital performance? BMC Health Services Research, 17, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2742-x
Shebehe, J., & Hansson, A. (2018). High hospital readmission rates for patients aged ≥65 years associated with low socioeconomic status in a Swedish region: a cross-sectional study in primary care. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 36(3), 300–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2018.1499584
