Hospital Readmission in Total Hip Replacement Patients in 2009 and 2014

Abstract

Objective: To document changes in 30-day hospital readmission rates and causes for returning to the hospital for care in THR patients.

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional descriptive design.

Setting: Community-based acute care hospitals.

Participants: Total sample size (N=142,022) included THR patients (identified as ICD-9-CM procedure code 81.51) in 2009 (n=31,232) and (n=32,863) in 2014.

Interventions: Not applicable.

Main outcome measures: 30-Day hospital readmission.

Results: The overall readmission rate decreased by 1.3% from 2009 to 2014. The decrease in readmission rates varied by groups, with lesser improvements seen in THR patients who were younger, with private insurance, and residing in lower-income and rural communities. Device complications were the leading cause of readmission in THR patients, increasing from 19.8% in 2009 to 23.9% in 2014.

Conclusions: There has been little decrease in hospital 30-day readmission rates for US community hospitals between 2009 and 2014. Findings from this brief report indicate patient groups at greater risk for 30-day hospital readmission as well as leading causes for readmission in THR patients which can inform the development of tailored interventions for reduction.

Keywords: Hospitals; Medicare; Patient safety; Quality improvement; Quality of care; Rehabilitation.