A Grady Memorial Hospital doctor says our society is more to blame than individual hospitals when sick, low-income patients are readmitted shortly after being discharged. A recent AJC story reported that Medicare plans to fine two-thirds of Georgia hospitals for having too many patients return within a month for additional care. The readmission penalties, part of the Affordable Care Act, encourage hospitals to pay closer attention to what happens to patients after discharge. In our second column, a health care executive writes about the need and benefits for greater collaboration between institutions, as demonstrated by the global response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
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