How Did We Make Transitions Such a Big Deal?

HOSPITAL admission & discharge; MEDICARE laws; COST control; TRANSITIONAL programs (Education); ENDOWMENTS; INTEGRATED health care delivery; INTERPROFESSIONAL relations; MAPS; MEDICAL care use; PATIENT education; POPULATION geography; QUALITY assurance; RESPONSIBILITY; DISEASE management; INSTITUTIONAL cooperation; PATIENT readmissions; PATIENT Protection & Affordable Care Act; HISTORY

Improving care transitions is a key strategy for reducing re-admissions that are both expensive and harmful to patients. Many healthcare delivery reform efforts aim to improve quality and achieve savings through reducing hospital re-admissions, producing widespread interest in care transition improvement models. Until the advent of the Affordable Care Act, providing transitional care was difficult to pay for through established payment mechanisms. This article outlines the history of Medicare policy and politics, the development of care transition improvement models, the current state of improvement initiatives, and a roadmap for the probable future of similar initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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