eCardioVascular Beat

Reducing readmission rates for CV patients

Diane Reiner, R.N.

Quality, program development manager
Providence Heart and Vascular Institute

As part of Providence Heart and Vascular Institute’s commitment to quality and connected care, Portland-area hospitals – Providence St. Vincent, Providence Portland and Providence Milwaukie – are enrolled in Hospital to Home, a national initiative to reduce readmission rates for cardiovascular patients.

Hospital to Home seeks to improve transitions from inpatient to outpatient settings for those hospitalized with cardiovascular disease.

The initiative is sponsored by the American College of Cardiology and Institute for Healthcare Improvement and is open to all interested medical facilities in the United States.

The goal is to reduce all-cause readmission rates for patients discharged with heart failure or acute myocardial infarction by 20 percent by December 2012. The focus is on medication management, early follow-up visits post-discharge, and symptom recognition at home.

Nationally nearly 25 percent of Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, most commonly for heart failure. The data illustrate the magnitude of the issue in Providence’s Portland-area hospitals.

Heart failure readmission rates, 2009