With looming financial penalties for institutions with high readmission rates, hospital administrators are under pressure to implement strategies to reduce readmissions despite limited evidence of effective strategies. The objectives of this study were to understand the process of developing readmission reduction strategies and to identify and categorize the range of strategies being implemented. The authors designed a qualitative study using semistructured interviews with 12 hospital administrators at 6 different hospitals. The following 6 categories of strategies were identified: (a) tracking readmissions, (b) using prediction tools, (c) implementing disease-specific or generic readmission reduction programs, (d) adopting electronic health record-based strategies to improve transitions, (e) recruiting frontline staff for program leadership, and (f) coordinating with primary care providers. The results highlight the myriad approaches to readmission reduction and the complexity of developing effective strategies.
Keywords: care transitions; qualitative methods; quality; readmissions.