Keynote Address
Stephen F Jencks
Whose Problem Are COPD Readmissions?
Stephen F Jencks MD MPH, Baltimore MD
Consultant in Healthcare Safety & Quality
Today hospitals are penalized if too many of their Medicare patients with certain diagnoses are readmitted within 30 days of discharge. In 2015, COPD may join other respiratory-related diagnoses including pneumonia and CHF for which penalties may be assessed. In this keynote lecture, Dr. Jencks will discuss how readmissions have become an issue that is forcing serious investment in reducing the fragmentation of healthcare. He will then outline the stake that respiratory therapists have in this new kind of accountability and how this accountability can be used to make therapists more respected members of the care team.
Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from
