Reflective Practice: A Tool for Readmission Reduction.

Factors intrinsic to local practice, but not captured by the medical record, contribute to readmissions. Frontline providers familiar with their practice systems can identify these. The objective was to decrease 30-day hospital readmissions.

Posthospital follow-up visits and 30-day readmission rates in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Purpose: To examine the effect of a follow-up visit with a primary care physician and/or pulmonologist within the first 30 days of hospital discharge on readmissions, emergency department (ED) visits, and mortality.

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of 7,102 unique patients discharged from a Mayo Clinic hospital in Rochester, MN, and residing in Olmsted County, MN, with any mention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from January 1, 2004 through November 30, 2011. The study included 839 patients who met study-entry criteria.