Summary

Description

Analysis reported in Post-Discharge Follow-Up Visits and Hospital Utilization by Medicare Patients, 2007-2010, published in Volume 4, Issue 2 of Medicare and Medicaid Research Review, shows an increase in the likelihood of receiving a community-based follow-up visit within 30 days of discharge and a slight decrease in the number of days before such visits took place for Medicare patients with an initial admission for heart failure (HF), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), or community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). The largest increase was in 2009 when CMS began publicly reporting hospital-level readmission rates for these conditions. Patients who were Black, Hispanic, or enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare Advantage were less likely to have timely post-discharge follow-up visits.