Abstract
Background Hospital readmissions are a key quality metric, which has been tied to reimbursement.
One strategy to reduce readmissions is to direct resources to patients at the highest
risk of readmission. This strategy necessitates a robust predictive model coupled
with effective, patient-centered interventions.
Objective The aim of this study was to reduce unplanned hospital readmissions through the use
of artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support.
Methods A commercially vended artificial intelligence tool was implemented at a regional
hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin between November 2018 and April 2019. The tool assessed
all patients admitted to general care units for risk of readmission and generated
recommendations for interventions intended to decrease readmission risk. Similar hospitals
were used as controls. Change in readmission rate was assessed by comparing the 6-month
intervention period to the same months of the previous calendar year in exposure and
control hospitals.
Results Among 2,460 hospitalizations assessed using the tool, 611 were designated by the
tool as high risk. Sensitivity and specificity for risk assignment were 65% and 89%,
respectively. Over 6 months following implementation, readmission rates decreased
from 11.4% during the comparison period to 8.1% (p < 0.001). After accounting for the 0.5% decrease in readmission rates (from 9.3 to
8.8%) at control hospitals, the relative reduction in readmission rate was 25% (p < 0.001). Among patients designated as high risk, the number needed to treat to avoid
one readmission was 11.
Conclusion We observed a decrease in hospital readmission after implementing artificial intelligence-based
clinical decision support. Our experience suggests that use of artificial intelligence
to identify patients at the highest risk for readmission can reduce quality gaps when
coupled with patient-centered interventions.
Keywords
intelligence - artificial - patient readmission - delivery of health care - quality
of health care technology assessment - biomedical - clinical decision-making - decision-making