Northeast Florida hospitals reducing readmissions

Northeast Florida hospitals reducing readmissions 

Area hospitals have been proactive in reducing readmission rates. And chief among the ways? Communication, officials say.

St. Vincent’s HealthCare physicians and nurses work to communicate discharge plans well before patients are discharged, said Phil Perry, system vice president and chief medical officer.

Those plans include “detailed, understandable discharge instructions with information about new and continued medications,” Perry said in an email. “Medication-related side effects and misunderstandings about what and when to take medicine is a leading cause of readmissions.”

Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/health-and-fitness/2012-01-11/story/northeast-florida-hospitals-reducing-readmissions#ixzz1jMnEqqrU

Nurse intervention aims to reduce readmissions

St. Vincent's also devotes a nurse practitioner (NP) to provide transitional care for heart failure patients. The heart failure NP not only provides one-on-one training to the patient in the hospital but also ensures that patients are seen within 7 days of leaving the hospital and receive a follow-up phone call within 48 hours and 10 days of discharge, the article noted.