Safety-Net Hospitals, Neighborhood Disadvantage, and Readmissions Under Maryland's All-Payer Program: An Observational Study.

Background: Safety-net hospitals have higher-than-expected readmission rates. The relative roles of the mean disadvantage of neighborhoods the hospitals serve and the disadvantage of individual patients in predicting a patient's readmission are unclear.

Objective: To examine the independent contributions of the patient's neighborhood and the hospital's service area to risk for 30-day readmission.

So many options, where do we start? An overview of the care transitions literature.

Background: Health systems are faced with a large array of transitional care interventions and patient populations to whom such activities might apply.

Purpose: To summarize the health and utilization effects of transitional care interventions, and to identify common themes about intervention types, patient populations, or settings that modify these effects.

Data Sources: PubMed and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (January 1950-May 2014), reference lists, and technical advisors.

Regardless of age: Incorporating principles from geriatric medicine to improve care transitions for patients with complex needs.

With its focus on holistic approaches to patient care, caregiver support, and delivery system redesign, geriatrics has advanced our understanding of optimal care during transitions. This article provides a framework for incorporating geriatrics principles into care transition activities by discussing the following elements: (1) identifying factors that make transitions more complex, (2) engaging care "receivers" and tailoring home care to meet patient needs, (3) building "recovery plans" into transitional care, (4) predicting and avoiding preventable readmissions, and (5) adopting a palliative approach, when appropriate, that optimizes patient and family goals of care. The article concludes with a discussion of practical aspects of designing, implementing, and evaluating care transitions programs for those with complex care needs, as well as implications for public policy.

Rehospitalizations among patients in the Medicare fee-for-service program.

Background: Reducing rates of rehospitalization has attracted attention from policymakers as a way to improve quality of care and reduce costs. However, we have limited information on the frequency and patterns of rehospitalization in the United States to aid in planning the necessary changes.

Methods: We analyzed Medicare claims data from 2003-2004 to describe the patterns of rehospitalization and the relation of rehospitalization to demographic characteristics of the patients and to characteristics of the hospitals.

Using population segmentation to provide better health care for all: the "Bridges to Health" model.

The model discussed in this article divides the population into eight groups: people in good health, in maternal/infant situations, with an acute illness, with stable chronic conditions, with a serious but stable disability, with failing health near death, with advanced organ system failure, and with long-term frailty. Each group has its own definitions of optimal health and its own priorities among services. Interpreting these population-focused priorities in the context of the Institute of Medicine's six goals for quality yields a framework that could shape planning for resources, care arrangements, and service delivery, thus ensuring that each person's health needs can be met effectively and efficiently.

Change in the quality of care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries, 1998-1999 to 2000-2001.

Context: Despite widespread concern regarding the quality and safety of health care, and a Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program intended to improve that care in the United States, there is only limited information on whether quality is improving.

Objective: To track national and state-level changes in performance on 22 quality indicators for care of Medicare beneficiaries.

Design, Patients, And Setting: National observational cross-sectional studies of national and state-level fee-for-service data for Medicare beneficiaries during 1998-1999 (baseline) and 2000-2001 (follow-up).

Containing U.S. health care costs: What bullet to bite?

In this article, the authors provide an overview of the problem of health care cost containment. Both the growth of health care spending and its underlying causes are discussed. Further, the authors define cost containment, provide a framework for describing cost-containment strategies, and describe the major cost-containment strategies.