Reducing Readmissions: Strategies for Hospitals

The Clinical Leadership and Infection Control section of Becker’s Hospital Review recently summed up “8 Ways Hospitals Are Cutting Readmissions.” MLMIC believes the efforts outlined by Becker’s not only improve patient care but also make sense as part of a hospital’s proactive risk management strategy.

Here are some highlights from the list:

• rapid follow-up
• empathy training and improved communication
• integrated care
• navigator teams
• home monitoring
• patient empowerment

Please see the original article for the full list, descriptions of each approach and supporting details related to specific conditions, such as heart failure and diabetes.

MLMIC supports the efforts of hospitals and healthcare providers to review discharge plans and patient follow-up procedures to ensure patient education, effective communication and proper coordination of care. We offer numerous resources to our policyholders that provide further related education, including “Effective Coordination of Care” (an in-depth article from our Spring 2017 Dateline newsletter) and several related risk management tips (such as “Effective Communication with Patients,” “Communicating with Low health Literacy Patients” and “Promoting Adherence to a Medication Regimen”).

In addition, we are always happy to answer policyholder inquiries related to patient safety and risk management. Please contact us with any questions or concerns you may have.