Rate of Readmission for Duke Patients Compared to the U.S. National Rate

Learn more about these measures and the current U.S. national readmission rates (hospitalcompare.hhs.gov).

What Does This Measure?

“30-day readmission” is when patients who had a recent hospital stay need to go back to the hospital within 30 days of hospital discharge.

The quality measure below tells you how well Duke hospitals 30-day readmission rates compare to national rates for heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia patients.

These rates take into account the severity of the patient’s illness upon admission to the hospital.

What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?

Duke has enacted several initiatives to improve our performance. These include:

• Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)
• Electronic medical records (EMR)
• Evidence-based medicine
• HealthView patient portal
• Nursing and physician education
• Discharge instructions and patient education information for:
• Heart attack patients
• Heart failure patients
• Pneumonia patients
• Patient advocacy and support groups
• Patient rounding
• Patient safety and clinical quality committees
• Six Sigma
• Standardized order sets

More Information

• See more outcome of care measures quality measures
• See all performance measures
• Compare Duke to other North Carolina hospitals at NC Hospital Quality Report
• Compare Duke to regional and national hospitals at Hospital Quality Alliance's Hospital Compare