"Four Signs You Should Be Readmitted To The Hospital" - Anna Medaris Miller
Hospital readmissions are, by and large, a bad thing. For patients, they can waste time, suck up energy that would be better dedicated to healing and bring on avoidable medical bills. For hospitals, they can indicate preventable expenses for the health care system, backlogs in emergency departments and poor patient care. But sometimes, going back to the hospital after you’ve returned home is necessary, even life-saving. “People look at it as ‘get out and stay out,’ but when you should think about going back is important too,” said Andrew Dunn, MD, professor of medicine and hospital medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and chief of the division of hospital medicine at the Mount Sinai Health System. Unless you think you’re experiencing an emergency, the best course of action before shuttling yourself back to the hospital is to call the surgeon, cardiologist or other lead clinician who treated you at the hospital, Dr. Dunn said.
- Andrew S. Dunn, MD, Professor, Medicine, Hospital Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System