Increasingly, a hospital’s readmission rate is being viewed as a marker of the quality of care provided to patients and the effectiveness of the discharge process as the patient’s care is transitioned to the outpatient setting. Focusing solely on hospital readmissions, however, maybe too narrow and provide an incomplete picture of the use of hospital- based acute care following discharge.

Emergency department (ED) visits are another important outcome following hospital discharge even when they do not result in hospital readmission.  By examining large databases (e.g., HCUP databases, Medicare), we identify the burden of re-ED visits and patients at high risk for re-ED visits, especially those with asthma and COPD.