Heart failure patients often land back in hospital

One in four heart failure patients on Medicare winds up back in the hospital a month after being discharged, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday in a finding that illustrates the need for financial incentives to keep them healthy.

The researchers said many heart failure patients leave the hospital without written instructions on diet, exercise and proper use of their medications—simple preventive steps that could keep them out from returning.

“Coming back and forth into the hospital isn’t good for patients and it isn’t good for the healthcare system,” Dr. Joseph Ross of Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, whose study appears in the journal Circulation, said in a statement.

An estimated 5.3 million Americans have heart failure, a chronic condition that will cost $34.8 billion this year in direct and indirect treatment costs, according to the American Heart Association.

Heart failure occurs when a heart weakened by disease can no longer pump blood effectively.

Ross and colleagues studied discharge records from patients on Medicare, the U.S. government’s health insurance program for the elderly, between 2004 and 2006 who had been hospitalized with heart failure.

They found that each year, about 23 percent of patients returned to the hospital within 30 days of being discharged.

“I was hoping for improvement and was disappointed to find that was not the case,” Ross said.

He said doctors in the United States currently are not paid to keep patients out of the hospital. Instead, they are paid for taking care of them when they are sick.

“If we want to deliver better care, this trend is what we need to address,” Ross said.

---
* Patients on Medicare often back in 30 days

* Study shows why doctors need different pay system

CHICAGO (Reuters)

RELATED STORIES:
Optimism about heart risks may be a good thing   Genetic analysis helps dissect molecular basis of cardiovascular disease   Study showing alcohol may cut heart risk under fire   Just one heart attack leads to 725 X-rays   Inhibition of GRK2 is Protective Against Acute Cardiac Stress Injuries   Heart Disease Patients Have Nearly 50% Lower Rates of Heart Attack, Stroke, and Death   Slow walkers more likely to die of heart disease   New Mechanism Identified for Beneficial Effects of Aspirin in Cardiovascular Disease   Young Athletes Need Dual Screening Tests for Heart Defects, Study Suggests   Surgeon ‘gluing’ the breastbone together after open-heart surgery   Heart Transplant Recipient Presents Gold Medal to Her Cardiologist   Walking slowly can increase your chances of death from heart disease

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]