CMS plans pilot project designed to eliminate hospital readmits

A group of 14 areas across the U.S. have been chosen to take part in a pilot project that will attempt to cut needless hospital readmissions. The Care Transitions project is designed to promote a seamless patient transition from the hospital to home, skilled-nursing setting or home healthcare and hopefully, cut hospital readmissions.

The project will be managed through a series of  pilot communities lead by state quality improvement organizations. Those organizations will work with providers, consumers and stakeholders to set up interventions both within and outside of the hospital. CMS will then monitor the rates at which patients in these communities are readmitted to the hospital.

The program hopes to address a serious problem. Right now, nearly one in five patients who leave the hospital today will be readmitted within the next month. Still, more than three-quarters of those readmissions are potentially preventable, according to acting CMS Administrator Charlene Frizzera.

To learn more about these programs:
-  read this Modern Healthcare article (reg. req.)

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