Should Doctors’ Pay Be Linked to Hospital Readmissions?

Published On: December 2nd, 2009

One in five Medicare patients winds up back in the hospital within a month of being discharged. At least some of these readmissions could be prevented with proper follow-up care; as part of the big health-care overhaul, Congress is likely to create financial incentives to push hospitals to lower readmission rates.

But, as an M.D. points out in an essay in this morning’s New York Times, practicing docs — not hospital execs — decide whether to admit patients to the hospital. And under the current system, doctors can bill every time they visit a hospitalized patient. So it makes sense to give doctors as well as hospitals a financial incentive to lower readmission rates, argues Sandeep Jauhar, a Long Island cardiologist.

Doctors could help lower readmission rates by seeing patients in a timely fashion after they’re discharged, and making sure they understand their medications and what they need to do to stay healthy, Jauhar says. One way to encourage doctors to do this is through “gainsharing” — allowing hospitals and doctors to share in savings Medicare realizes if readmission rates go down.

“You have to motivate doctors to do the right thing,” Jauhar writes. “You can appeal to professionalism or altruism, to doing well for patients or serving a greater social purpose, but nothing influences behavior like money, especially in these times.”

Readmission Bonus: Read our post from earlier this year on what hot dogs have to do with hospital readmissions.

Photo: iStockphoto

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Should Doctors’ Pay Be Linked to Hospital Readmissions?

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xoxoQuira : @Woohnl1700 lol , you right but I tried that too the doctors said he too high up they gonna hve too induce me

2012-02-11T18:59:50Z - Reply - View Tweet
kenziee_barbiee : I went to the doctor he told me you gotta stop drinking, stop doing drugs & stop havin' sex, ya know what I did? I switched fukn doctors!

2012-02-11T18:59:47Z - Reply - View Tweet
nickbettsWOT : doctors are fucking cunts, nearly been 2 months since i've had cellulitis and they still havent fixed me.. why do i pay tax? pissed

2012-02-11T18:59:46Z - Reply - View Tweet
_LisaStacks : @Stoo_Pid yeah, I did! I'm about to go home and soak it in water. I go to the doctors again on Tuesday.

2012-02-11T18:59:43Z - Reply - View Tweet
NickBlairMedia : RT @washingtonpost: RT @ezraklein: Health care reform's biggest threat: too few doctors. http://t.co/0NWNquE8

2012-02-11T18:59:42Z - Reply - View Tweet
helenlowell : Reasons Why You need Nutritional Supplements - WeboTab: Most of you may be wondering why doctors would prescribe... http://t.co/ACPoQPx3

2012-02-11T18:59:38Z - Reply - View Tweet
Dboy5796Prince : I really wish the doctors will hurry up and tell us what's wrong

2012-02-11T18:59:35Z - Reply - View Tweet

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