As many as 4.4 million hospital stays could possibly be prevented with better ambulatory care, improved access to effective treatment, or patient adoption of healthy behaviors, according to a new statistical brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. In 2004, hospital costs for potentially preventable conditions totaled nearly $29 billion. From 1997 to 2004, total hospital costs for potentially preventable admissions increased by 31 percent (adjusted for inflation), while the number of admissions rose by only 3 percent.
Total hospital costs for short-term diabetes complications and urinary tract infections in adults rose by more than 50 percent during the same time period. And although the admission rate for hypertension increased by 20 percent, the total hospital costs for this condition rose by almost 90 percent. Read the brief.
