COPD joined the list of diseases targeted by the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program in October of 2014. Hospitals that fail to curb excessive readmissions for congestive heart failure, heart attack, pneumonia and COPD will face stiff financial penalties.
To prepare for this next phase of the reduction program, the AARC provides an in-depth look into reducing hospital readmissions for COPD, how and why they’re likely to occur, and more specifically, how hospitals can utilize the expertise of their respiratory care departments to improve quality, reduce unplanned COPD readmissions, and cut misallocated expenses from the care provided to the COPD population.
Reducing Hospital Readmissions Video
Our one-hour video titled; “Reducing Unplanned Hospital Readmissions: An Opportunity for the Respiratory Therapist” features Dr. Stephen Jencks and Becky Anderson RRT, and is moderated by AARC Executive Director Tom Kallstrom MBA, RRT, FAARC.
Dr. Stephen Jencks is a healthcare consultant on patient safety and senior author on the authoritative New England Journal of Medicine article titled; “Rehospitalizations among Patients in the Medicare Fee-for-Service Program” (N ENGL J Med 360;14, April 2009). Dr. Jencks is a former United States Assistant Surgeon General. His work validated the MEDPAC findings on hospital readmissions that led to the Readmissions Reduction Program as part of the Affordable Care Act.
Becky Anderson RRT is a registered respiratory therapist and manager of the Disease Management Section of the Respiratory Care Services Department at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, ND. Becky speaks nationally on the outcomes her hospital has achieved regarding the care of the COPD population at Sanford Medical Center. These outcomes include a 10% reduction in COPD readmissions and an estimated 40% reduction in emergency department visits and hospitalizations. In addition, her hospital went from a net loss of $250 per COPD admission to a net gain of $1,750 per patient admission following the onset of the program.
This video has not been approved for CRCE by the American Association for Respiratory Care.
Related COPD Resources
- AARC Congress 2013 Keynote Address Video
- COPD Best Practices Webcast Archive
- Rehospitalizations among Patients in the Medicare Fee-for-Service Program
- Affordable Care Act Best Practices
- COPD Case Manager Job Description
- UC Davis ROAD Program Slide Deck
- Best Practices Through Respiratory Therapy Staff Initiatives
