Strategies to minimize readmission rates following major urologic surgery

Autor: Janet Baack Kukreja, Ashish M. Kamat
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Therapeutic Advances in Urology, Vol 9 (2017)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1756-2872
1756-2880
17562872
DOI: 10.1177/1756287217701699
Popis: Readmissions after major surgical procedures are prevalent across multiple disciplines. Specifically, in urology, with incorporation of early discharge and recovery pathways, readmissions are emerging as an important problem and effecting an epidemic proportion of urology patients. As expected, readmissions have garnered the attention of major healthcare payers in the United States who see readmissions as easy targets because of the association with astronomical costs. More importantly, readmissions have a significant negative impact on patient sense of wellbeing, and places economic and other hardships on the doors of our patients and their families. Here, we explore the reasons patients are readmitted, using radical cystectomy as a case study, and means to decrease the incidence of readmissions. Since time to readmission for most major urologic oncology surgeries is within the first 2 weeks after discharge, this time frame is critical for efforts to improve symptom identification and reduce the total number and severity of readmissions. Readmission reduction to zero is unlikely for any major surgery, but with effective coordinated strategies, we must strive to reduce the rates as much as possible, as a means to improve the care continuum for our patients.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals