Assessment of a Novel Tool for Identifying Hospitalized Patients with Heart Failure At Risk for 30-Day Readmission, High Cost, And Longer Length of Stay.

AGE distribution; CONFIDENCE intervals; DIAGNOSIS related groups; CARDIAC patients; HEART failure; HOSPITAL patients; LENGTH of stay in hospitals; MARITAL status; MEDICAL care costs; NOSOLOGY; RACE; RISK assessment; SEX distribution; T-test (Statistics); LOGISTIC regression analysis; JUDGMENT sampling; MULTIPLE regression analysis; EVALUATION research; RETROSPECTIVE studies; RECEIVER operating characteristic curves; PATIENT readmissions; ODDS ratio

The article presents a study on the Rothman Index score and its usefulness in identifying hospitalized patients with heart failure at risk for extended hospitalization. Topics include the penalty for U.S. hospitals with high 30-day readmission rates for specific diagnoses, which include heart failure, the economic need for better management of the heart-failure patient population, and the study results supporting the use of the Rothman Index score and the PeraTrend patient acuity software.