An Administrative Claims Measure Suitable for Profiling Hospital Performance on the Basis of 30-Day All-Cause Readmission Rates Among Patients With Heart Failure

BACKGROUND: Readmission soon after hospital discharge is an expensive and often preventable event for patients with heart failure. We present a model approved by the National Quality Forum for the purpose of public reporting of hospital-level readmission rates by the Centers for Medicare median difference, 0.06 percentage points). CONCLUSIONS: This claims-based model of hospital risk-standardized readmission rates for heart failure patients produces estimates that may serve as surrogates for those derived from a medical record model.