HCUP: Potentially Preventable Pediatric Inpatient Stays for Asthma and Diabetes
A statistical brief from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) addresses one of the key issues in the healthcare industry today: preventing hospitalizations. HCUP examined trends in the rates of potentially preventable pediatric visits for asthma and diabetes, which have increased by 21 percent in recent years after seven years of decline.
Linda Barlow
Potentially preventable pediatric stays were more common for asthma than for diabetes, with asthma-related stays occurring at over four times the rate of diabetes-related stays. According to HCUP, asthma and diabetes remain more common in certain racial and ethnic minority groups and among poor and underserved populations. Many hospital stays are potentially avoidable through regular ambulatory care by specialty and primary care physicians. Efforts to improve clinical guidelines and establish medical homes, as well as other initiatives may also result in a decline in potentially preventable pediatric hospital stays, according to the brief.
What strategies can patients and caregivers pursue to help reduce the rate of preventable hospital stays for children suffering from asthma and diabetes? Let us know your ideas in the comments section.