By Julie Appleby
Kaiser Health News
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
One of six patients hospitalized in Maryland in the past year ended up back in the same facility within a month, a risky situation for them and a costly one for bill payers.
To keep that from happening so often, more than a dozen hospitals in the state are considering joining an experiment: Upending the traditional way they are paid and setting in motion changes that could both boost patient care and reduce preventable admissions….
…Two rural hospitals – Garrett County Memorial in Oakland and McCready Memorial in Crisfield – have already signed such contracts for three years, and at least seven more, including Calvert, are in line to do so, said Murray.