40-60 percent of admissions from nursing homes avoidable

This brief article is a commentary on the history of the 3-night rule that requires a Medicare patient to stay for three nights in a hospital in order to qualify for reimbursement of rehabilitation services later provided in a skilled nursing facility.  In it is quoted a fact drawn from a study on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website that:

• “Medical record reviews indicate that 40% to 60% of hospital admissions from nursing homes are avoidable.”

Source: Lipsitz, L.A.  The 3-night hospital stay and Medicare coverage for skilled nursing care.  JAMA, Sept. 16, 2013 [online].  Click here for full text free: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=1738447&utm_source=Silverchair%20Information%20Systems&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JAMA%3AOnlineFirst09%2F16%2F2013  Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org