Assignment Instructions
Discuss discharge resources that are available for chronic cardiorespiratory issues to support patient independence and prevent readmission. Explain how readmission affects reimbursement. What implications does readmission have on the hospital and on the patient?
Sample Answer
Discuss discharge resources that are available for chronic cardiorespiratory issues to support patient independence and prevent readmission.
There are various resources that enhance the independence of patients with chronic cardiorespiratory issues. These resources include patient education, rehabilitation services, home health care services, telemedicine services, and support groups. Patient education involves equipping patients with full information regarding their health, self-care, and treatment techniques (American Heart Association, 2024). Rehabilitation services such as speech, occupational, and physical therapy enable the patients to reintegrate into the environment. Home healthcare services as a resource are provided by professional nurses and caregivers who provide the patients with therapy, medical care, and assistance in executing activities of daily living. Telemedicine services allow patients who have been discharged to communicate with healthcare professionals without necessarily visiting the healthcare facility. Additionally, there are support groups comprising of patients with similar conditions and they are crucial in giving them emotional support.
Explain how readmission affects reimbursement.
Patient's readmission within 30 days after discharge affects hospital reimbursement. The Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) encourages healthcare organizations to provide high-quality care to reduce avoidable readmissions. Healthcare organizations with high rates of readmission are liable to financial penalties.
What implications does readmission have on the hospital and on the patient?
The high rate of patient readmission has an effect on both healthcare organizations and patients. For a healthcare organization, high readmission rates ruin its reputation and it has a financial impact. High readmission rates ruin a healthcare organization's reputation as it may affect the future volume of patients and partnerships with other organizations. A financial incurred when a hospital faces a penalty due to high rates of readmission. For the patients, high patient readmission worsens their health and decreases their quality of life, and lengthens their recovery times. Financially, the patient is affected as patient readmission results in additional care costs incurred, and emotionally, it causes the patient anxiety and stress (Lærum-Onsager et al., 2021).
References
American Heart Association. (2024). Patient education resources for health care professionals. www.heart.org. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/consumer-healthcare/patient-education-resources-for-healthcare-providers
Lærum-Onsager, E., Molin, M., Olsen, C. F., Bye, A., Debesay, J., Hestevik, C. H., & Pripp, A. H. (2021). Effect of nutritional and physical exercise intervention on hospital readmission for patients aged 65 or older: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 18(1), 62. https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-021-01123-w