Taking Charge of Discharge

Taking Charge of Discharge

One in Five Patients Experience an Adverse Event After Hospital Discharge

Last month, the federal government together with the Department of Health and Human Services and medical organizations like the American Medical Association launched an initiative called Partnership for Patients. One of the major goals of the program is to reduce patient readmission rates. According to the HHS; one in five patients experience an adverse event within three weeks after leaving the hospital. 

Partnership for Patients is a “voluntary initiative and physicians will be encouraged to do everything to reduce adverse events and readmission rates,” said AMA President Cecil B. Wilson, MD in an article published on the American Medical News website.

The American College of Cardiology joined the partnership because it is in “alignment with the organization’s goals and Hospital to Home campaign. Interestingly, just this year the organization “challenged” its members to schedule follow-up care within seven days after a patient has been discharged from the hospital. 

Partnership for Patients and the Hospital to Home Campaign are both have obtainable and admirable goals.

Source:  American Medical News: $1 billion patient safety effort relies on physician outreach