Hospital readmission rates for Medicare patients held steady from 2004-2009, according to a new report by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care. But as The Wall Street Journal reports, Northwest Memorial Hospital in Chicago has actually lowered its readmission rates. One technique they’re using, which the Dartmouth Atlas team recommends, is making sure patients see their primary care physicians within a week of release.

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The Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care examined Medicare data on hospital readmission rates as part of a recent study. (image courtesy of the Dartmouth Atlas Project)

Read the full story, published on The Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog on 09/28/11.