Hospital readmission rates dropped significantly for Moore Foundation grantee, the Department of Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, after implementing the Re-Engineered Discharge (RED) Toolkit, a resource to help hospitals better prepare patients for life after a hospital stay. The project and its results are featured as the latest Impact Case Study by The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality.
Project RED provides hospitals with comprehensive planning tools designed to empower patients to manage their health as they leave the hospital and transition back home or to other settings. The main goal of Project RED is to reduce the rate of patients returning to the hospital within 30 days of having been discharged. Tools include: arranging for follow-up care from a primary care physician or specialist; helping patients anticipate and understand pending lab results; explaining new medications; and follow-up calls to patients to reinforce discharge plans.
By implementing all of the Project RED tools, the VA dropped its 30-day readmission rates by 30 percent, from 14 to 16 percent down to less than nine percent. While all of the tools were deemed important, medication reconciliation, the teach-back method—asking patients to explain key concepts in their own words to demonstrate comprehension— and follow-up calls to patients within 24 and 48 hours of discharge were critical to achieving project goals.
Read the full case study here.
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