Study: Avoidable hospitalizations cost U.S. $30.8 billion in 2006

A new study from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has found that hospital costs in the United States could have been reduced by $30.8 billion in 2006 if Americans had better primary care and healthier lifestyles (Source: “Primary care, healthy lifestyles could have saved $30.8 billion in hospital care in 2006,” MedCity News, May 1, 2009).

According to the AHRQ brief, Nationwide Frequency and Costs of Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations, 2006, one of every 10 dollars in hospital exenditures, and as many as 4.4 million hospital stays, could have been prevented with better ambulatory care, improved access to effective treatment or patient adoption of healthy behaviors. The information is based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Other findings included:

• Congestive heart failure and bacterial pneumonia were the most costly preventable conditions, accounting for half of the total costs for all avoidable hospitalizations
• One in five Medicare hospital admissions was for a potentially preventable condition
• Hospitalization rates for potentially preventable conditions were highest among residents in poorer communities