Disease chronicity and quality of care in hospital readmissions.

The study described in this article examined disease chronicity and quality of care and their relationship to hospital readmissions during a 3-month period. Results showed that readmissions due to disease chronicity were significantly more prevalent than for other categories. Illnesses, including pulmonary disease, heart failure, and cancer, ranked as leading causes for readmission, whereas readmissions due to quality of care or complications most often resulted from a previous admission for surgery. This study's findings demonstrate that using readmission rates alone as indicators of poor care can be misleading.