220-157 Early Rehospitalization Among Medicaid-Enrolled Adults With and Without Serious Mental Illness

Publication Date: September 2012

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Description:

Increasing rates of hospitalization have attracted growing attention from healthcare providers and policy makers alike. Reducing those rates is viewed as a way to both lower healthcare costs and improve quality of care. Research has shown that nationwide early readmission occurs after about 25% of initial hospitalizations and approximately 19% of readmissions are for ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs), which are considered potentially preventable. These ACSCs can usually be treated at a lower level of care or occur due to lack of timely, adequate treatment at a lower level of care. Reducing the overall rate of early rehospitalization for any condition and the rate of potentially preventable rehospitalization for ACSCs are major goals of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). However, despite rising concerns, there is only limited information on the frequency and patterns of early rehospitalization, including information on factors that may influence the occurrence of these events for persons with severe mental illness (SMI). We examined the patterns and risk factors for early rehospitalization among Medicaid-enrolled Floridians with and without SMI. We also examined whether behavioral health treatment would be associated with a reduced risk of these costly and often traumatic adverse events for persons with SMI.