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Article
The association between skilled nursing facility care quality and 30-day readmission rates after hospitalization for heart failure
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  • Owolabi Ogunneye, MD, Baystate Health
  • Jennifer Friderici, Baystate Health
  • Mara Slawsky, MD, Baystate Health
  • T. Vijay Gadiraju, MD, Baystate Health
  • Mihaela Stefan, MD, Baystate Health
Document Type
Article, Peer-reviewed
Publication Date
5-1-2015
Abstract

The objective of the study was to assess the association between care quality of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and 30-day risk-adjusted readmission rate (RAR) for patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). A retrospective cohort study was conducted involving 603 discharges from a tertiary care hospital to 17 SNFs after hospitalization for ADHF. SNF quality was assessed based on the CMS 5-star quality rating and a survey of SNF characteristics and processes of care. In all, 20% of cases were readmitted within 30-days; 9.4% were for ADHF. The all-cause RARs for higher- and lower-quality SNFs were 18% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 14%-23%) and 22% (95% CI = 17%-26%), respectively, and the ADHF RARs were 8.8% (95% CI = 6.0%-11.6%) and 10.2% (95% CI = 7.0%-12.9%), respectively. There were no significant associations between ADHF RARs and individual processes of care or structural characteristics. Quality ratings of SNF or processes of care did not correlate with RAR.

Citation Information
Ogunneye O, Rothberg MB, Friderici J, Slawsky MT, Gadiraju VT, Stefan MS. The association between skilled nursing facility care quality and 30-day readmission rates after hospitalization for heart failure. Am J Med Qual. 2015 May;30(3):205-13.