HOSPITAL Score Identifies Patients at Risk for Readmission before Discharge

A prediction model developed by researchers can help physicians prospectively identify as many as 27% of patients who are at high risk of experiencing a potentially avoidable readmission, according to the results of a study published online March 25, 2013, in JAMA Internal Medicine. The study, which analyzed 10,731 patient discharges from an academic medical center in Massachusetts between July 2009 and June 2010, found that 2,398 discharges (22.3%) were followed by a 30-day readmission, of which 879 (8.5% of all discharges) were identified as potentially avoidable.