Santa Barbara Preventing Hospital Readmission After Discharge
2024-25 Edition
Why is it important to prevent returning to the hospital?
Sometimes patients have to go back to the hospital after being discharged. In many cases, the return trip to the hospital could have been prevented with better patient care and better planning. Patients who need more care should return to the hospital. However, healthcare providers should try to make sure patients do not need to return. Return hospital trips should be avoided because they can lead to more serious or new health problems. With return hospital visits, there are also more hospital bills and more time away from work.
How should your doctor and the hospital staff help you avoid another hospital stay?
A good discharge plan is important. Hospital staff should work or communicate with your doctor on the discharge plan before you leave the hospital. Hospital staff should discuss the care instructions with you and your family member or caregiver. Be sure to ask questions if you don’t understand the instructions. If you can’t follow the discharge instructions, be sure to ask for help or alternatives. Different resources may be available such as in-home care services, transportation assistance or the possibility of transferring to a different type of care facility.
What do the stars mean?
The scores show how well each medical group did at making sure patients aged 65 and over did not return to the hospital for the same or a different health condition within 30 days after a hospital visit. Rates of readmission take into account how sick patients were when they went into the hospital the first time. This "risk-adjustment" helps make comparison between medical groups fair and meaningful. The higher score means more patients got the right care at the right time.
The scores are based on information from at least 150 medical group patient records in 2022.