Two or More Admissions in Previous Year Best Predictor of Readmission, Study Finds

​Having experienced two or more inpatient admissions within the past 12 months was the best predictor of patients at high risk for readmission within 30 days of discharge, according to the results of a study published online November 13, 2013, in the Journal of Hospital Medicine. The study, which included all adult patients admitted to a three-hospital healthcare system from August 2009 to September 2012, evaluated a number of variables associated with hospital readmission—including prior admissions, visits to the emergency department, previous 30-day readmissions, and the presence of multiple medical disorders—to determine which would be the most effective part of an automated prediction model integrated into the electronic health record (EHR). Then, the EHR system was configured to place a flag in a column marked “readmission risk” when patients with at least two prior admissions within the past year are admitted.