Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Racial Disparities in Readmission Rates among Patients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities.

Rivera-Hernandez M, Rahman M, Mor V, Trivedi AN. Racial Disparities in Readmission Rates among Patients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2019 Aug 1; 67(8):1672-1679.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.
   Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions



Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: Prior studies have reported mixed findings about the existence of racial disparities in readmission rates among Medicare Advantage beneficiaries, but these studies used data from one state, focused on black-white disparities, and did not focus on patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The objective of the study was to characterize racial and ethnic disparities in rates of 30-day rehospitalization directly from SNFs among fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage patients. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of admissions to SNFs in 2015 was conducted. SETTING: SNFs across the United States. PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 1 500 334 white, 213 848 African American, and 99 781 Hispanic Medicare patients who were admitted to 13 375 SNFs. MEASUREMENTS: The main outcome of interest was readmission, identified as patients sent back to any hospital directly from the SNF within 30?days of admission, as indicated on the Minimum Data Set discharge assessment. RESULTS: Overall readmission rates for fee-for-service patients were 16.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 16.7%-16.8%) for whites, 18.8% (95% CI = 18.7%-19.0%) for African Americans, and 17.4% (95% CI = 17.1%-17.7%) for Hispanics. Readmission rates in Medicare Advantage were 14.7% (95% CI = 14.5%-14.8%) for whites, 16.8% (95% CI = 16.6%-17.1%) for African Americans, and 15.3% (95% CI = 14.9%-15.6%) for Hispanics. We also found that African Americans had about 1% higher readmission rates than whites, even when they received care within the same SNF. No statistically significant differences were found in the magnitude of within-SNF racial disparities in Medicare Advantage compared with Medicare fee-for-service. CONCLUSION: We found racial disparities in readmission rates even within the same facility for both Medicare Advantage and fee-for-service beneficiaries. Intervention to reduce disparities in readmission rates, as well as more comprehensive quality measures that incorporate outcomes for Medicare Advantage enrollees, are needed. J Am Geriatr Soc 67:1672-1679, 2019.





Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.