The effect of workforce assignment on performance: Evidence from home health care

Guy David, Kunhee Lucy Kim
2018 Journal of Health Economics  
In this study of more than 43,000 home health episodes following a hospitalization, handoffs between skilled nursing providers-a marker of discontinuity of care-substantially increased hospital readmissions, and were more detrimental for sicker patients. The estimates imply that a single handoff increases the likelihood of 30-day hospital readmission by 16% and that one in four hospitalizations during home health care could be avoided if handoffs were eliminated.
doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2018.03.003 pmid:29627675 fatcat:gum6moopmfho5a7d4llk4gzmku