Patients at New York City hospitals just can’t seem to stay away.
The rate at which patients were sent home and then had to return to the hospital within 15 days is worse than the state average at 31 of 68 city hospitals, according to a new report card out today.
The “readmission rates” can indicate several problems, including that patients did not get proper follow-up care or developed a complication, according to the Niagara Health Quality Coalition.
Among the hospitals with the highest readmission rates were St. Barnabas in The Bronx; Wyckoff Heights in Brooklyn; North General in Manhattan; and St. John’s Episcopal in Queens.
This year’s report for the first time had patient ratings for hospital cleanliness as well as communication with nurses and with doctors. The data is for 2008.
Most hospitals scored at the national average for cleanliness, but communication with nurses fell below the national average at 16 out of 58 hospitals.
The lowest-rated hospitals in patient satisfaction included Bronx-Lebanon in The Bronx; Interfaith in Brooklyn; New York Downtown in Manhattan; Flushing in Queens; and Richmond University in Staten Island.
