Date of Award

1-1-2013

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Program

Epidemiology

Content Description

1 online resource (viii, 137 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Louise-Anne McNutt

Committee Members

Victoria Lazariu, Howard Stratton, Wayne Triner, Carl Rosati

Keywords

Abdominal Surgery, Diabetes, Emergency Department, Readmission, Hospitals, Abdomen

Subject Categories

Epidemiology

Abstract

Nearly one-fifth of Medicare beneficiaries are readmitted within 30 days of a hospital stay. Readmissions contribute to the rising health care costs and they serve as a proxy for overall inpatient quality of care. Policy makers and payers interested in the efficacy of strategies to improve care coordination have scrutinized readmission rates for some time, yet this analysis attends to several remaining gaps in the literature. First, the rising prevalence of diabetes may be an underappreciated driver for readmissions. Second, many abdominal surgery patients require post-operative care, yet the point of care delivery and level of care needed has not been well described for these surgeries.

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Epidemiology Commons

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