Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Revolving Door:

Only Boston Hospital with readmission rate for three common conditions higher than national average

As the debate over healthcare rages in Washington, the Obama Administration and members of Congress have cited high numbers of hospital readmissions as a drain on health care resources. According to a report in the Boston Globe, a recent study conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that patients who visited Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center were more likely than the national average to be readmitted for three common conditions: heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia. BIDMC was the only hospital in Boston to have readmission rates higher than the national average for all three common conditions -- BIDMC's highest readmission rate was 27.5 percent for heart failure.

No other hospital in Boston and only 15 hospitals nationally scored worse than the U.S. national rate on all three measures.

July 9, 2009: “Medicare posts data on hospital readmissions,”