The expenses that healthcare institutions incur in treating patients and compensating the workforce is directly linked to performance outcomes. One of the most common factors that determine the performance of a hospital is the readmission rates. At times, low readmission rates may mean that a hospital is offering a high quality of care. However, for patients with heart-related conditions, high readmission rates can lead to improved health outcomes (Feemster & Au, 2014). As such, it is vital to incentivize hospitals to reduce the mortality rates among patients with these conditions.
Readmissions involve the use of hospital resources and input of the workforce. Thus, if the state governments do not reimburse the hospitals for the cost incurred in treating patients with such chronic conditions, then there will be inadequate resources remaining to attend to other patients. Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the government promises to compensate the healthcare practitioners working in rural areas (Elwood, 2013). This strategy aims at strengthening the hospitals and thereby resulting in improved performances. When the government covers the additional expenses that hospitals incur, then there will be reduced readmissions and improved health outcomes among patients with blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (Elwood, 2013). Indeed, the number of readmission rates due to poor quality of care will significantly reduce.
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Furthermore, reimbursement can improve the performance of hospitals located in low-income neighborhoods. In a recent study, researchers noted that readmission rates were high among African Americans and low-income regions (Feemster & Au, 2014). Health disparities in these regions arise from the fact that the hospitals have few resources to serve the surrounding population. A majority of the patients from these regions cannot afford preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopy (Elwood, 2013). However, this problem can be avoided through a system such as the ACA that caters to the diverse needs of patients—ACA offers to compensate hospitals located in low-income neighborhoods. With a proper reimbursement system for hospitals, there will be improved services and improved patient outcomes.
References
Elwood, T. W. (2013). Health reform in the context of entelechy. Journal of Allied Health , 42 (3), 127-134.doi:10.2190/IQ.34.1.b
Feemster, L. C., & Au, D. H. (2014). Penalizing hospitals for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease readmissions. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , 189 (6), 634-639. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201308-1541PP
