Lower Mortality Rates in Elderly Readmitted to Hospital Where Surgery was Performed Rather than Alternate Hospital

From January 2009-November 2011, 93,062 Medicare patients were re-hospitalized for complications due to major surgeries common in elderly patients. One in four of these Medicare beneficiaries were readmitted to a different hospital than the one where surgery was performed. The rate of mortality was 41% higher for these patients than those readmitted to the hospital where surgery was originally performed. Clinical integrating may improve outcomes for older US patients undergoing complex surgery.