News Report | July 29, 2020
CMS Hospital Readmission & Mortality Rate Measures Are Skewed By The Share Of Consumers With An End-Of-Life Directive & DNR Order
Hospitals with a greater relative volume of consumers who presented “do not resuscitate” (DNR) orders on admission had higher 30-day mortality rates and higher odds of avoiding a financial penalty for excess readmission rates. Currently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP) does not control for differences in the share of hospital consumers admitted with DNR orders. Controlling for DNR status could avoid potential biases in HRRP financial penalties, pay-for-performance programs, and overall hospital quality rankings. Each 1% absolute increase in risk-adjusted hospital-level DNR prevalence was associated with greater . . .