Hospital readmission rates

7 October 2014

Question No. 114

Mr Chen Show Mao

MP for Aljunied GRC

Question

To ask the Minister for Health (a) what are the readmission rates for each acute hospital for each of the last three years; (b) what are the readmission rates for each acute hospital for each of the last three years for patients aged 65 years and older; and (c) whether readmission rates for each acute hospital could be published annually.

Answer

1.     The readmission rate for patients within 30 days after discharge from public hospitals was 11.7% in 2011 and 12.2% in both 2012 and 2013. In 2013, the readmission rate was 6.2% for KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital and the readmission rates for the other hospitals are similar and ranged from 13.4% at Singapore General Hospital and National University Hospital to 15.1% at Alexandra Hospital.

2.                 The readmission rates for patients aged 65 years and older had remained stable around 19% from 2011 to 2013. In 2013, the readmission rates for patients aged 65 years and older ranged from 18.5% at Tan Tock Seng Hospital to 21.1% at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

3.                 Overall,our public hospital/ institution readmission rates are comparable to the United States, but higher than some other countries such as the United Kingdom.

4.                 Several factors contribute to readmissions, such as the patient’s conditions and disease type, the quality of inpatient care, the transitions to primary and community care, and the follow-up care, including rehabilitation care. The home environment and family support is also an important contributing factor.  Readmission rates also vary across hospitals due to the different casemix (i.e. type and range of cases seen).

5.                 We will study the request on the publication of readmission rates.  MOH monitors the readmission rates regularly and shares the results with the public hospitals annually for their consideration in implementing measures to reduce readmissions. Hospitals have implemented various programmes to reduce readmission rates. For example, Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s Virtual Hospital programme involves assigning a care manager to monitor patients who have a history of multiple admissions. Such coordinated care and monitoring ensures that these patients receive adequate support, and thus minimises the risk of readmission.