Frequency and Diagnoses Associated With 7- and 30-Day Readmission of Skilled Nursing Facility Patients to a Nonteaching Community Hospital

In this community hospital population, close to 1 in 5 discharges to an SNF resulted in a hospital readmission within 30 days. CHF, renal failure, UTI, pneumonia, and COPD were common index hospital and readmission diagnoses. Care paths and guidelines are available for these conditions that should be helpful to SNFs in initiatives designed to improve transitional care and reduce potentially avoidable hospital readmissions, as well as their associated morbidity and cost.