Hospitals using bundled payments report reduced SNF use and improved care integration

Editor's Note

Hospitals participating in Medicare’s Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement model or its Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative for lower extremity joint replacement episodes report reducing skilled nursing facility (SNF) use and improving care coordination, in this survey.

Interviews of executives or administrators in each of 22 hospitals and health systems participating in these Medicare initiatives identified two organizational responses for how they are achieving the objectives of the models to improve quality and control costs after hospital discharge.

One strategy was to reduce SNF referrals through the use of risk-stratification tools, patient education, home care supports, and links with home health agencies.

Another was to enhance integration with SNFs; 15 of the hospitals or health systems had formed networks of preferred SNFs to influence quality and costs.