Predictors of readmissions after head and neck cancer surgery: A national perspective

Hospital readmissions cost Medicare alone more than $17billion annually in avoidable expenses, with over 17.5% of patients getting readmitted within 30-days of hospital discharge [1–3]. Only 10% of these Medicare readmissions are considered planned readmissions [1]. In order to encourage hospitals to reduce readmissions, the Affordable Care Act, which was passed in March 2010, created the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. Since October 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has levied a penalty on hospitals with readmissions in excess of the expected national rate.

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