Summary: Case managers and advanced practice nurses in Aetna's Transitional Care pilot have also successfully partnered to reduce readmissions. Dr. Randall Krakauer, national medical director, Medicare at Aetna, describes the key focus and the complementary roles that reduced 90-day readmissions by 25 percent. Dr. Krakauer also weighs in on the pros and cons of bundled payments, and why incentives alone will not significantly impact avoidable readmissions. Dr. Krakauer and Dianne Feeney, BSN, MS, associate director of quality initiatives for the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC), examined how to structure programs to reduce avoidable hospital readmissions, including the alignment of financial incentives, during the December 2, 2009 webinar, "Aligning Reimbursement To Reduce Avoidable Hospital Readmissions."
