Efforts to reduce unnecessary hospital visits for nursing home patients are still under way three years after an initiative began promoting reduction of hospitalizations. The study has left the issue still at large. Patients may be sent due to a lack of knowledge of symptoms, fear of lawsuits, family members requiring it, or incentives for reimbursements. A hospital is often the first choice and the easiest choice, rather than a second option to diagnosis, proper care plan, and communication among the patient’s involved caregivers.
Nursing homes may be incentivized to send patients to hospitals despite the fact that a patient does not need hospitalization. The incentive comes from government reimbursements related to bed-holds and higher reimbursement rates for patients discharged from the hospital. The fight to reduce hospitalizations will take training, communication, and assessment. But the hope is that in the end, nursing home patients will be receiving the best care possible. For more, read the story.
