How Are Hospital Readmissions Tracked

The National Quality Forum (NQF) was created in 1999 and serves the health care industry through quality measurement and public reporting.  The National Quality Forum (NQF) holds meetings at 1030 15th Street NW, 9th floor conference center, suite 950 west, Washington DC.  The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a voluntary consensus standards setting board with a mission to improve the quality of American health care.  The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a nonprofit funded through Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and many more both public and private sources. 

The National Quality Forum (NQF) retains a measure data base.  Listed as number 1789 in the National Quality Forum (NQF) measure data base dated September 12, 2012 is (HWR) The Hospital Wide All Cause Unplanned Readmission Measure.  The steward of the measure is (CMS) the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid.  The measure estimates the hospital level, risk standardized rate of unplanned, all cause readmissions after admission for any eligible condition within 30 days of hospital discharge for patients 18 years of age and older.

All readmissions are counted as outcomes except those that are considered planned.  For the readmission to be excluded it would need to contain characteristics of measurement endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF).  As a certified Medicare and Medicaid provider manditory reporting is reviewed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid in accordance with the measurement listed through the National Quality Forum (NQF). 

This defines the National level loop for consistently collecting manditory reporting of hospital readmissions. Reported values are reviewed  and needed resources are assigned to regions that demonstrate higher than accepted hospital readmission rates.  Increased over sight can include decreased hospital reimbursement rates. 

PATH ALONG is an original Wisconsin model  that connects inpatient providers to community staff who support the patient during health system transitions.  For additional information browse the website with free access
http://www.homecarepath.com/Pages/PRESSRELEASEOriginalWisconsinModelToReduceHospitalReadmissionRates.aspx