Originally published October 27 2013
Study shows nutritional supplements can cut hospital readmission rates
by L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews) Eleven years of groundbreaking research and data analysis on hospitalized Medicare patients is to be presented at the 35th annual meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making in Baltimore, Maryland. The analysis has found positive evidence showing how nutritional supplements effectively lower hospital readmission rates. This is big news for the American medical industry, primarily because Medicare patients are typically given prescription drugs instead of nutritional supplements.
And that prescription drug system must not be working, for in the current Medicare system, one in five patients are readmitted to a hospital in the same year, costing American taxpayers estimates exceeding $17.5 billion.
Affordable Care Act prompting something good?
One provision of the Affordable Care Act imposes fines on hospitals whose patient readmission rates exceed national averages. Fines estimated around $227 million are projected to hit over 2,000 hospitals in the next year. The fine, currently at one percent, is set to double going into 2014, punishing those hospitals that can't get their Medicare readmission rates under control.
This may pressure hospitals administrators to change their Medicare outpatient care completely, as health care professionals look for alternatives to help elderly patients recover.
Instead of welcoming readmissions and collecting Medicare insurance funds, hospitals may actually be pushed to help their patients recover! Entirely new outpatient programs and follow-ups may birth, helping seniors get the nutrition and energy they need to avoid readmission.
The most common medical readmission issues Medicare patients face are acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure. With the right nutritional outpatient care, these vascular problems could subside. If powerful nutritional supplements including the likes of chlorella, hawthorne, and flax seed were utilized, many patients wouldn't have to be readmitted.
For example, if follow-up doctor visits encouraged dietary advice and the provision of organic whole food supplements, then patients could heal more efficiently by getting the right enzymes, probiotics, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins in their body. This is the best way to cut down on hospital readmission rates - real whole food nutrition.
Nutritional supplements cutting down hospital readmission rates
The new 11-year study provides clear evidence on how nutritional supplements effectively cut hospital readmission rates.
The research, conducted from the University of Southern California and Stanford University, shows how oral nutritional supplements help hospitalized Medicare patients, reducing 30-day hospital readmission rates, lowering patients' length of stay and bringing down taxpayer medical costs.
- The study showed a 10.1 percent reduction in readmission rates for congestive heart failure patients.
- The study relayed a 12 percent reduction in readmission rates for those suffering from acute myocardial infarction.
- Overall, it showed an 8.4 readmission reduction for all patients, regardless of diagnosis!
Imagine the quality of life that elderly patients could regain well into their old age if simple nutrition was utilized in basic supplement form. On top of quality living, time and and cost savings were reported as well.
- There was an observed 16 percent reduction in patients' length of stay.
- This equated to an average savings of 1.65 days per person.
- There was a 15.8 percent cost savings, translating to $3,079 saved in health care expenses per person.
Breaking the norm
The norm has portrayed nutritional supplements as unnecessary and overpriced, but this 11-year study defies that myth. Nutritional supplements can and do save the medical industry thousands of dollars per patient, helping them recuperate faster and reduce their readmission probability. Cost savings are especially important in the Medicare system, because the whole thing is funded by the American taxpayers themselves.
Giving the right nutritional supplement instead of the right prescription drug is the future of health care in the United States. There is a mass awakening that will translate to real health care change.
The norm must be defied, and whole food nutrition must replace the current system of thought.
Peoples' lives and their quality of life hang in the balance.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org
http://www.eurekalert.org
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