Reducing Hospital Readmissions For The Elderly
Reducing Hospital Readmissions For The Elderly
Reducing Hospital Readmissions For The Elderly
attaining a specific goal while all must also function independently. One of the most crucial
systems is the health care system that has continued to be overpopulated due to unplanned
readmission of the elderly in hospitals (Facchinetti et al., 2020). The growing population visiting
hospitals that end in readmission has continued to raise concerns in the stakeholders. This essay
attempts to address the growing number of older people in hospitals while incorporating
interventions that can be used to suggest possible solutions to help flatten the curve. Also, this
paper aims to suggest measures that can be used to reduce hospital visits for elderly individuals
by suggesting possible alternatives and the importance of follow-up visits with healthcare
providers. Research suggests that home-based care is the optimal solution to the growing number
of hospital readmissions, especially for the elderly population. A few common diagnoses for
readmission of the elderly includes falls due to immobility or gait imbalance, urinary tract
infections, and cancer. Research shows that up to 21% of hospitalizations with one of these
Multiple research studies have been conducted, both randomized and controlled clinical
trials to identify which intervention would be most effective in reducing hospital readmission of
the elderly. To assess quality, research including tables and text to offer a possible explanation of
which methods are the most effective and a further explanation as to why alternative methods are
not feasible. A possible explanation of the common diagnosis is that the healthcare system is
The rising concern about the readmission rates also considers the quality of care being
delivered in hospitals. Many believe that hospitals can only be accountable for what happens in
the first week after discharge and readmissions after that period do not reflect the role played by
hospitals after discharge but rather problems with self-management, lack of community
resources or the development of new problems that are beyond the control of hospitals care.
There are certain quality measures that can provide valid results on a hospitals' performance that
reflect the quality of services and patient centered care. Hospitals are struggling to keep their
rates of readmissions afloat due to readmission penalties (Shebehe & Hansson, 2018).
Therefore, the financial benefit of reducing readmissions can only be achieved if hospitals
maintain a constant general reduction of the number of elderly patients being readmitted.
The elderly population plays a pivotal role in our society and it is essential to keep an
updated record of their sicknesses and the interventions that have been proven to work. Hospitals
are in pursuit of increasing the quality of care, leading to an overall reduction of readmissions for
all ages including the elderly. Some of the possible remedies to decrease the number of
readmissions of the elderly include close monitoring of the transition from hospital to home-
based care. It is also important to implement the need for an informed medical reconciliation
with the patient’s primary healthcare provider, increase the follow up visits with the provider and
plan all referral to specialist pertinent to the patient and the chronic condition as well as the role
of ambulatory services in transporting the patients (Bach et al., 2018). We can also investigate
the family situation and assess if the patient needs home laboratory service and home care
service to improve the treatment regimen and the consistency on the patient’s care.
HOSPITAL READMISSION 4
References
Bach, Q. N., Peasah, S. K., & Barber, E. (2018). Review of the Role of the Pharmacist in
https://doi.org/10.1177/0897190018765500.
Facchinetti, G., D’Angelo, D., Piredda, M., Petitti, T., Matarese, M., Oliveti, A., & De Marinis,
Shebehe, J., & Hansson, A. (2018). High hospital readmission rates for patients aged ≥65 years
https://doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2018.1499584.