Measures of PPHs from Nursing Homes
Beginning in the 1970s, clinicians, researchers, and others
were concerned about the large number of hospitalizations
from nursing homes, the apparent inappropriateness of
some hospitalizations, and negative health effects of hospitalization
for some residents. The first measures of PPHs
from nursing homes were published in the early 2000s and
were generally adopted directly from measures developed
Figure 1. Factors and incentives that influence the decision to hospitalize LTC patients.
2314 OUSLANDER AND MASLOW DECEMBER 2012–VOL. 60, NO. 12 JAGS
arlier for younger people and hospitalizations from the
community. Instead of using quality measures to define
PPHs prospectively, some studies used detailed medical
record abstraction tools to identify such hospitalizations
retrospectively. Such methods are useful at the facility level
for root cause analyses but are not feasible on a large scale
using readily available administrative data.
Measures of Potentially Preventable Hospital
Readmissions
Beginning in the late 1970s, clinicians, researchers, and
others were concerned about the frequency and high cost
of hospital readmissions, particularly for Medicare benefi-
ciaries. Implementation of the Medicare Prospective Payment
System created strong financial incentives for shorter
hospital stays, which led to concern about premature discharges.
Thus, the focus of research shifted to the relationship
between the quality of inpatient care and subsequent
readmissions. The readmission measures identified specify
a maximum time period between the initial hospitalization
and subsequent readmission, usually from 15 days to
6 months, but government initiatives that use readmission
measures are increasingly specifying a 30-day time period.
Thirty days is thought to be the maximum period that
hospitals can reasonably be held accountable for problems
in the quality of inpatient care that may result in
readmission.