In an effort to reduce the high costs of health care, health care executives, physicians, and clinical staff establish guidelines to minimize the rates of readmissions for patients. While certain medical conditions may require that patients are readmitted into health care organizations, for less urgent or extensive medical conditions, ensuring that health care service is administered effectively the first time will go a long way in minimizing readmission. From a financial standpoint, patient readmissions constrict health care services, resources, and staff that would otherwise be used to treat new patient cases. From effective health care delivery, a patient who is readmitted may be an indication of poor quality health care delivery, ineffective process workflows, or inefficient patient care.

For this Assignment, review the resources for this week. Reflect on how health care executives might address the board of directors of a health care organization in order to reduce readmissions. Within the context of Medicare reimbursements, how will reducing readmissions benefit the health care organization?

The Assignment: (2 pages)

• Write a brief to the board of directors explaining two specific strategies that you, as the chief executive of the hospital, would implement to reduce readmissions within the context of Medicare reimbursement.
• Be sure to include support from the literature.

Resources

• Dye, C. F., & Garman, A. N. (2015). Exceptional leadership: 16 critical competencies for healthcare executives. (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.
  • Chapter 14, "Competency 14: Driving Results" (pp. 157–165)
  • Chapter 15, "Competency 15: Stimulating Creativity" (pp. 167–176)
  • Chapter 16, "Competency 16: Cultivating Adaptability" (pp. 177–186)
• Butcher, L. (2013). Hospitals strengthen bonds with post-acute providers Links to an external site.. Retrieved from http://www.hhnmag.com/articles/5987-hospitals-strengthen-bonds-with-post-acute-providers
• Chernew, M. E. (2016). Payment reform: Two payment models will dominate the move to value-based care. In The Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development of the American Hospital Association (Ed.). (2016). Futurescan healthcare trends and implications: 2017–2022 (pp. 12–15). Health Administration Press.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (n.d.-b). Provider preventable conditions Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/finance/provider-preventable-conditions/index.html
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2016a). Community-based care transitions program Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/CCTP/
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2016e). Readmissions reduction program (HRRP) Links to an external site.. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/medicare/medicare-fee-for-service-payment/acuteinpatientpps/readmissions-reduction-program.html