Lauren Christy
Children′s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, USA
Keynote: Adv Practice Nurs
A multidisciplinary team met in early 2015 to identify an innovative, proactive approach to decrease pediatric readmissions. The team included nurses, physicians, care managers, social workers and pharmacists. Strategies used in adult health care to decrease readmission rates were evaluated for pediatric implementation. An effective strategy identified in adult healthcare was a home visit after a hospital discharge. This strategy was chosen as a feasible approach due to an established relationship with a Medicaid provider. Post discharge home visits were not routinely ordered for pediatric patients. Collaboration occurred to ensure the routine home visit could be effectively operationalized and authorized by the insurer. The team identified a pediatric home care provider, who could accommodate the home services. In December 2015, home visits were implemented for inpatients that had Medicaid HMO. Excluded patients were those who previously had home care services or select diseases. Two-hundred and ninety seven (297) pediatric patients were authorized for a home visit in the first quarter. Of those patients, 159 were inpatient status and 138 were observation status. First quarter comparisons showed a 63% reduction in readmission rates from 18.16% in 2015 to 6.47% in 2016. Preliminary results from this project indicate the implementation of a pediatric home visit after discharge may reduce 30 day readmission rates up to 63%. A lower readmission rate may impact quality indicators and increase reimbursement to the hospital.
Lauren Christy is currently a Nurse Unit Director for Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, USA. She is pursuing her PhD in Instructional Leadership and Management at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Journal of Advanced Practices in Nursing received 410 citations as per Google Scholar report
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