Mark A. Clapp, MD, MPH1; Sarah E. Little, MD, MPH2; Jie Zheng, PhD3; et al

Readmission rates are used as a quality indicator and linked to reimbursement for certain medical and surgical conditions.1 Obstetric maternal readmissions have not been rigorously studied as a quality measure, though their use has been proposed.2 The goal of this study was to determine the potential utility of this metric and its ability to accurately reflect quality by quantifying (1) the variance in hospital postpartum readmission rates and (2) the percentage of the variance that was attributed to the effect of the hospital after controlling for case mix.

JAMA