KHI NEWS SERVICE
TOPEKA, Aug. 14 A new report shows that about 10 percent of hospital costs nationwide were due to potentially preventable conditions.
In 2004 alone, about $29 billion in hospital expenses could have been reduced or eliminated by better primary care and healthier habits, according to the report.
The findings were made public this week in a
new study
by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality titled “Trends in Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations among Adults and Children, 1997-2004.”
“As many as 4.4 million hospital stays could possibly be prevented with better ambulatory care, improved access to effective treatment, or patient adoption of healthier behaviors,” concluded Allison Russo, Joanna Jiang and Marguerite Barrett, the report”s authors.
A recent study by the Commonwealth Fund showed that
Kansas
ranked 26th in the nation for its rate of avoidable hospital use and cost.