Readmission Rates Lower among Hospitals That Refer High Share of Postsurgical Patients to Specific SNFs

​By increasing the proportion of surgical referrals to a particular skilled nursing facility (SNF) after discharge, hospitals may be able to meaningfully reduce readmissions after surgery, concludes a study published in the May 2016 issue of Surgery. The study sought to evaluate the effect of hospital-SNF linkage on 30-day hospital readmission rates among approximately 1.5 million Medicare participants who underwent one of five common inpatient surgical procedures (coronary artery bypass grafting CABG, hip fracture repair, total hip arthroplasty, colectomy, or lumbar spine surgery) in 2011 and 2012.