Here's how one agency decreased hospital readmission rates. Hospital readmissions can hurt your HHA. One of the outcomes released for public comparison is the percentage of patients who "had to be admitted to the hospital." This has home health agencies nationwide working to understand why patients are readmitted and how to prevent unnecessary readmissions. Despite the challenges of serving a rural community, Shore Health Care At Home in Olney, VA has been able to keep many patients from being readmitted, decreasing its acute care hospitalization rate by 19 percent in one year, reports administrator Glenna Melson. As one step in the process, the agency audited for patient and family educational efforts, using the assistance of the state's quality improvement organization, Virginia Health Quality Center, Melson says. "They have been very helpful with all of our outcome-based quality improvement efforts," she adds. The agency found several areas of concern. Problem: Patients often weren't sure what to do when they encountered medical difficulties. Strategy: SHC focused on providing the best possible education to patients to teach them self-care and help them understand what problems to look for and how to handle them. Melson provides these agency-tested tips:
Problem: Patients often called either their physician or 911, rather than the home health agency providing their care, when they encountered medical difficulties, Melson says. Strategy: The agency focused on maintaining closer contact with patients more likely to experience difficulties.
"Once they got used to calling us instead of 911 for problems, patients found that the agency was able to respond quickly to their needs," Melson says.