Care Quality for Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the Readmission Penalty Era

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fifth-leading cause of admissions and the third-leading cause of readmissions among U.S. adults. Recent policies have instituted financial penalties for excessive COPD readmissions. To evaluate changes in the quality of care for patients hospitalized for COPD after implementing the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP), The pre-HRRP trends toward improving care quality for inpatient COPD care slowed after HRRP implementation. This suggests that financial penalties for readmissions did not stimulate a higher quality of care for patients hospitalized with COPD. It remains unclear what policies or approaches will effectively ensure high-quality care for patients hospitalized with COPD exacerbations.