Readmissions associated with hospital characteristics

Editor's Note

Select hospital characteristics are associated with readmissions after major surgical procedures, this study finds.

After adjusting for patient factors, rural location was predictive of readmission after colectomy. Low-volume and minority-serving hospitals were associated with greater odds of readmission after total joint arthroplasties.

Because financial penalties may worsen performance in vulnerable or low-resource settings, policies aimed at reducing readmissions should be attentive to potential unintended consequences, the authors note.