Assignment: Reducing Readmissions: Brief to the Board of Directors

In an effort to reduce the high costs of health  care, health care executives, physicians, and clinical staff establish  guidelines to minimize the rates of readmissions for patients. While  certain medical conditions may require that patients are readmitted into  health care organizations, for less urgent or extensive medical  conditions, ensuring that health care service is administered  effectively the first time will go a long way in minimizing readmission.  From a financial standpoint, patient readmissions constrict health care  services, resources, and staff that would otherwise be used to treat  new patient cases. From effective health care delivery, a patient who is  readmitted may be an indication of poor quality health care delivery,  ineffective process workflows, or inefficient patient care.

For  this Assignment, review the resources for this week. Reflect on how  health care executives might address the board of directors of a health  care organization in order to reduce readmissions. Within the context of  Medicare reimbursements, how will reducing readmissions benefit the  health care organization?

The Assignment: (2 pages)

• Write a brief to the board of directors explaining how you, as the  chief executive of the hospital, would implement strategies to reduce  readmissions within the context of Medicare reimbursement. Be specific  and provide examples.
• Be sure to include support from the literature.