5 factors driving readmissions to different hospitals: Vizient

Nearly one-third of readmissions occur at a different hospital than the original site of care, which limits a hospital’s visibility after a patient’s discharge and increases costs, according to an August report from Vizient. 

Vizient researchers analyzed an all-payer dataset and U.S. Medicare claims in 2023 by the hospitalwide, all-cause, unplanned readmission rate, 30-day emergency department revisit rate and Vizient’s vulnerability index. 

The report examined the rate of readmissions and ED revisits at a hospital different from the first site of care, which indicates a hospital’s effectiveness in treating patients, coordinating follow-up care and preventing avoidable return visits. 

The factors most likely to cause a readmission at a different hospital are as follows: 

• Residing in vulnerable neighborhoods, particularly those with Medicaid or Medicare coverage,

• Behavioral health, neurosciences and orthopedics service lines,

• Residing in the South,

• Rural markets,

• Regions with a low provider concentration.

“These patterns suggest higher fragmentation of care and reflect underlying barriers related to access, socioeconomic conditions and system coordination,” Vizient said. 

This trend also increases healthcare costs. Readmissions to a different hospital are five times more expensive than same-hospital readmissions, with an average excess of $1,372 per readmission, according to the report. The aggregate cost burden is $21 billion annually.

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