Trend of Hospital Readmissions, Mortality, ER Visits and Observation Room Stays in Clostridium difficile Infection Cases in Medicare Advantage Population

Clostridium difficile (CD) is an important cause of antibiotic and hospital-associated infection. This preventable infection also plays a major role in hospital readmissions, mostly in the elderly, leading to the CMS implementing rules to penalize hospitals with higher rates, in the Hospital Value Based Purchasing Program1.

Objective

To profile the demographic characteristics of the Medicare Advantage(MA) population with this infection and analyze trends in readmissions, mortality, emergency room(ER) visits and observation room(OR) stays from 2008-2011.