Hospitalizations of nursing homes residents: the role of reimbursement policies

Factors which contribute to hospitalization of nursing home residents are multiple and complex. They include dimensions of the policy setting as well as patient management practices. In seeking interventions to reduce such hospitalizations, most research has focussed on changing patient management. But provider reimbursement policies may also influence the decision to hospitalize nursing home residents. This includes payments to hospitals and general practitioners as well as to the nursing homes themselves. Differences in payment methods may mean that interventions that work well in one setting do not work well in another. This is a commentary on http://www.ijhpr.org/content/3/1/2/.