Hospital-Wide All-Cause Unplanned Readmission Measure (HWR)

This measure estimates a hospital-level, risk-standardized readmission rate (RSRR) of unplanned, all-cause readmission within 30 days of discharge from an index admission with an eligible condition or procedure. The measure reports a single summary RSRR, derived from the volume-weighted results of five different models, one for each of the following specialty cohorts based on groups of discharge condition categories or procedure categories: surgery/gynecology, general medicine, cardiorespiratory, cardiovascular, and neurology. The measure also indicates the hospital-level standardized readmission ratios (SRR) for each of these five specialty cohorts. The outcome is defined as unplanned readmission for any cause within 30 days of the discharge date from the index admission (the admission included in the measure cohort). A specified set of readmissions are planned and do not count in the readmission outcome. CMS annually reports the measure for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) patients who are 65 years or older and are hospitalized in non-federal short-term acute care hospitals.
For the All-Cause Readmission (ACR) measure version used in the Shared Savings Program (SSP) beginning in 2017, the measure estimates an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) facility-level RSRR of unplanned, all-cause readmission after admission for any eligible condition or procedure within 30 days of hospital discharge. The ACR measure is calculated using the same five specialty cohorts and estimates an ACO-level standardized risk ratio for each. CMS annually reports the measure for patients who are 65 years or older, are enrolled in Medicare FFS, and are ACO assigned beneficiaries.
The updates in this form reflect changes both to the original HWR measure and the ACS measure version. For instances where the two versions differ, we provide additional clarifications below the original description.