SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-The Readmissions Survey: Evaluating and Reducing Preventable 30-Day Hospital Readmissions Across a Health System

Pdf Summary

This project examined 30-day readmissions across a three-site health system’s general medicine services over a five-month period (Feb. 2–July 31, 2025). Since hospitals have faced financial penalties for readmissions under the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, the team aimed to better understand which readmissions might be preventable and what patterns could inform improvement efforts.<br /><br />The study used a survey completed by the discharging provider, followed by additional review processes that differed across hospitals. In total, 1,267 surveys were sent and the completion rate was 60.9%. The team reviewed readmissions through multiple lenses, including provider assessment, risk scoring, and multidisciplinary discussion.<br /><br />Overall, very few readmissions were judged preventable. However, the review identified recurring themes that could be targeted for intervention. The most common contributing factors included patient adherence to discharge instructions, social factors, medication-related issues, transitions of care gaps, and other discharge planning problems. Less common reasons included care delivery standards not being met, missed diagnoses, and scheduling/follow-up failures.<br /><br />A key finding was that providers appreciated being notified when their patients were readmitted. Although the number of clearly preventable readmissions was low, the process still revealed actionable opportunities at all three hospitals.<br /><br />The project’s next steps are to continue developing site-specific interventions for preventable readmissions and to establish a review committee that regularly examines readmission patterns, especially readmissions occurring within 7 days, to identify trends and guide improvement.

Asset Subtitle

Jenna v. Lanz

Meta Tag

Author List Amanda Bisset, Amy Fraccola, Aparna S. Kamath, Atalaysha Churchwell, Deirde Pelletier, Eliseu Y. Chuang, Grace Ernstberger, Gunjan Antaal Mann, Jenna v. Lanz, Kellie Capes, Ken Allen, Lauren Griffin, Madison Cook, Michelle Perkons, Monique Fleurant,

Category Innovations

Concept 30-Day Readmission

Concept Readmission Review

Concept Hospital Readmission Reduction Program

Concept Avoidable Readmission

Concept Discharge-Provider Survey

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Duke University Hospital

Presenting Author Jenna v. Lanz

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

30-day readmissions

hospital readmissions reduction program

general medicine

preventable readmissions

discharge planning

transitions of care

medication-related issues

patient adherence

readmission review

quality improvement

30-Day Readmission

Readmission Review

Hospital Readmission Reduction Program

Avoidable Readmission

Discharge-Provider Survey