HHS: Hospitals aren't gaming readmissions with observation claims

Modern Healthcare: Fewer patients are returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, and it's not because hospitals are holding patients in observation units instead of admitting them as a means of avoiding penalties, according to new federal data. Readmission rates dropped significantly for more than 3,300 U.S. hospitals between 2007 and 2015. A small increase in the number of Medicare observation claims was also seen at that time. But researchers say the changes in observation stays can't account for the drops in readmission rates.

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