Health care is changing as payment models shift from quantity to quality; with these changes comes the need for the health care community to join forces. Specifically, hospitals are looking to partner with nursing homes because they play an integral role in transferring patients across the continuum of care. This collaboration can have a direct effect on hospital readmission rates, which will become even more important as penalties are scheduled to rise in the future. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently announced the latest penalties for hospital readmissions, with more than 250 California hospitals assessed penalties. (1)

How do these hospital penalties affect your nursing home? As part of the continuum of care, hospitals are counting on their local nursing homes to help reduce readmissions. In California, approximately 22 percent (2) of hospital readmissions come from nursing homes. Relationship-building between nursing homes and local hospitals can help facilitate the communication of key patient information, which can help reduce the incidence of readmissions.

Many resources are available to help nursing homes take control of their patient transfers and improve communication among providers. Health Services Advisory Group of California, Inc., the state’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization is here to help. Its No Place Like Home Web site, www.noplacelikehomeca.com, features improvement tools, statewide learning events, community work groups, directories, statewide and regional readmission data, and provider-specific resources—all available at your fingertips.

Tracking your nursing home’s readmission data and knowing your readmission rate is crucial to joining in the conversation with hospitals. (3) Contact your local hospitals, armed with your readmission data, to identify opportunities for improvement and enhance the patient experience.  

1. Find out which hospitals in your community were levied penalties at Kaiser Health News, August 20, 2013, http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/August/02/readmission-penalties-medicare-hospitals-year-two.aspx.

2. CMS Medicare Fee-for-Service Part-A Claims, calendar year 2012.

3. Learn how to track hospital readmission rates from the Advancing Excellence Nursing Home Quality Campaign.

This material was prepared by Health Services Advisory Group of California, Inc., the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for California, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.  Publication No. CA-10SOW-8.0-082713-03

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