Most people leave the hospital with absolutely no desire to return. But many U.S. patients come back all too soon as their at-home recoveries unravel. So who’s responsible for these expensive, unwanted readmissions?
In the past, the onus was put on patients: They were "noncompliant" – not taking their medications, flouting discharge instructions, leading unhealthy lifestyles. And as long as patients ignored what was best for them, the thinking went, the in-and-out-of-the-hospital cycle would continue.
But massive costs to the health care system eventually forced a closer examination of excessive readmission. At least one root cause emerged: Hospitals haven't been doing a good enough job getting patients ready to go home – and stay there.
Read the full article here.
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