How to Calculate Readmission Rate

When it comes to the health care industry, many hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent care wards and medical facilities keep track of something called the "readmission rate." The readmission rate refers to patients who are readmitted to the same facility after being previously discharged from that facility for the same medical condition. Calculating readmission rates is relatively easy to figure out by following a few steps.

Things You'll Need

• Calculator
• Access to patient stats or info

Show More

Instructions

• 1

  Determine the readmission rate window. Different medical facilities use different amounts of time to calculate a readmission rate. At the Mayo Clinic, for instance, they use a seven day window. Other medical facilities may use a 15 or even 30 day window as a basis for when someone is considered "readmitted." Determine the window for your medical facility.

• 2

  Count the number of patients who were readmitted within the readmission window. While such numbers are not readily available to the public, a person may call the hospital or medical facility and ask them if they publish readmission rate statistics. Some hospitals do publish the number of patients who were readmitted because when the number is low, it supports the quality of their care. Also, there are United States government agencies, such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, that gather readmission rate information and publish it for public viewing.

• 3

  Divide the number of patients who were readmitted by the total number of patients that were seen and treated at a medical facility. As an example, let's say that 33 people were readmitted to a hospital that saw 1000 patients over a 30 day period. Using 30 days as our window, simply divide 33 by 1000 to calculate your answer of 0.033, or 3.3 percent.