UK: Hospitals to face penalties for readmissions

Financial Times reports it is expected to be announced today that hospitals in the UK will no longer be paid in full when patients are readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Emergency readmissions in England have been rising for years – up from just over 350,000 in 1998 to almost 550,000 in 2007/08, or from about 7 per cent of admitted patients to around 10 per cent.