Acute Readmissions

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings

Care Transitions

Country

New Zealand

Publishing Organisation

District Health Board Performance Measures

Type of Quality Indicator

Outcome

IOM Quality Dimension

Effectiveness

Domain

Hospitalisation

Defining Attributes

Definition

Standardised readmission ratio of the observed number of readmission stays to the predicted number of readmission stays of a District Health Board.

Numerator

Observed number of readmission stays.

Denominator

Predicted number of readmission stays. The numbers are derived based on the number of admissions and readmissions for patients presenting to New Zealand hospitals.

Exclusions

Admissions: non-casemix; for palliative care; DHB of service is unknown Readmissions: non-acute; more than 28 days from the previous admission; within 24 hours and has a transfer flag; planned readmissions; statistical readmission; any previous admission ended in the patient's death.

Use of Risk Adjustment

Yes

Risk Adjustments

Admission type, prior stays, primary diagnosis group, Patient Clinical Complexity Level, length of stay, age, prior morbidities, and current morbidities.

Stratifications

Data Attributes

Type of Data Collection

Administrative data

Data Collection Methods

National Minimum Dataset (NMDS). DHBs provide quarterly reports to the Ministry via a web based reporting tool.

Frequency of Data Collection

Quarterly

Frequency of Data Collection in Days

Reporting Methods

Publicly reported on Ministry of Health website. A summary report is produced each quarter based on the performance assessments undertaken by the Ministry measure owner/subject. These reports are summarised on a one-page heat map of each DHB's performance for the quarter and also contribute to the DHB balanced scorecard. Together the DHB heat map and score card form a key part of the regular DHB performance information provided to the Minister of Health.

Reporting Frequency