DebMed Patient Safety Solution Helps Hospitals Minimize Reduced Reimbursement for Patient Readmissions

DebMed Patient Safety Solution Helps Hospitals Minimize Reduced Reimbursement for Patient Readmissions PR Newswire CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Oct. 24, 2012 - DebMed GMS Leads the Change in Patient Safety and the Reduction of Hospital Readmissions CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, Oct. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DebMed®, creator of DebMed® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System), the world's first evidence-based group monitoring system to electronically monitor, track and report compliance rates in real-time based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene," is providing assurance through technology for the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. Under the Affordable Care Act, the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, effective October 1, 2012, reduces reimbursements to hospitals with excess readmissions. Hospitals that perform worse than average, with patients returning to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, will face up to a 1 percent penalty, which would average $125,000 per facility this coming year, according to government estimates. The penalties increase over time up to 3 percent in 2015. Under the program, the measures that are related to the reimbursements focus on heart attacks, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, patients' perception of care and healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).