New York Times Looks at "Post-Hospital Syndrome"

​Complications that arise after hospital discharge, the so-called post-hospital syndrome, may be a major reason behind high rates of hospital readmission among older patients, according to an August 3, 2018, article in theNew York Times. According to the author, about 18% of discharged Medicare beneficiaries in 2016 were readmitted within 30 days. The term post-hospital syndrome was coined by a Yale University cardiologist in 2013. He noticed that patients would come in with a condition like heart failure or pneumonia and then be readmitted with an unrelated condition, such as internal bleeding or injuries from a fall. The cardiologist posited that hospital discharge marks the start of a 60- to 90-day period during which patients are particularly vulnerable to readmission. Post-hospital syndrome is still just a hypothesis, the Times author noted, but research supports its validity.