Get out, and stay out, of the hospital

Consumer Report's most recent hospital Ratings, which include readmission rates for 4,460 hospitals in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, show that some hospitals do a much better job than others in avoiding readmissions. For example, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, in Sarasota, Fla., had a readmission rate of 13.3 percent, the lowest among the hospitals in our Ratings with at least 500 beds. By comparison, Nassau University Medical Center, in East Meadow, N.Y., had a readmission rate of 20.2 percent, the highest among hospitals with at least 500 beds. Overall, 28 percent of hospitals earned a high Rating in readmissions; but just about as many—27 percent—got a low Rating in the measure. The data, which come from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is for patients 65 and older and covers July 2011 to June 2012, the most recent dates that are publically available.See More