Heart Failure Readmissions: 400 Bed Hospital

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Heart Failure Only DRG 127 N = 417	34%	Reduction in readmissions in less than 31 days post discharge	Nationally recognized “Heart 100” hospital 400-bed, close-in suburb of Chicago, IL
	100%	Reduction in returns to the ER in less than 31 days post discharge
	8 hour	reduction in length of stay on readmit

ANNUAL PROJECTIONS

Control group = 394	13.2%	readmission rate	52	readmissions per year
	3.1%	return to the ER	12	returns to the ER per year
	6.86	days LOS on readmit	6.86	days LOS on readmit
Care Kit group = 23	8.7%	readmission rate	34	readmissions per year
	0%	returns to the ER	0	0 returns to the ER
	6.50	days LOS on readmit	6.50	days LOS on readmit

Control Group is retrospective data, 2001. Care Kit Group is one quarter, 2002. Selection criteria: patients discharged to home or home care weighing 300 pounds or less. Data collected from medical records. Readmitted patients discharged with DRG 127.

HIGHLIGHTS: Care Kit rose to the challenge of improving outcomes at a Heart 100 Hospital: in fact Care Kit achieved a remarkable improvement.

This hospital had thought its readmission rate was much lower prior to collecting the “before” data. Hospitals seldom review ER returns and readmissions for quality improvement but instead assume a lower rate of recidivism than is actually the case.

Even when numbers are genuinely low, cost savings can be surprisingly high. In the case of the hospital that did this project, Care Kit reduced the length of stay by .36 of a day. The Chief Nursing Officer said, “That is more than eight hours of time eliminated. You just saved me money!”

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