The Hospital "Revolving Door" -- New Information on a Big Danger
Medicare has just published new information that helps patients determine if their local hospitals have a dangerous "revolving door" problem with some of their treatments.
The revolving door happens when a patient is sent home but then has to be readmitted to the hospital within one month. That means either that the patient was sent home too soon in the first place, or didn't get appropriate followup care outside the hospital to prevent the need to be rehospitalized.
Medicare's Hospital Compare website has added "readmission rate" reports for all U.S. hospitals for three types of illnesses: heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.
USA Today has done its own analysis of the Medicare data and made it easier to search for hospitals near you.
I discuss finding a top hospital using the Medicare information and other tools in Chapter 14 of my new book on health care, "The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care -- and Avoiding the Worst."
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