Hospitals struggled to lower readmission rates among Medicare patients between 2003 and 2009, according to a September report from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice. The report comes as hospitals prepare for Medicare penalties for high readmission rates that start in October 2012.

Researchers affiliated with the institute’s Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care examined the records of all 10.7 million Medicare patient hospital discharges from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2009, and found little progress.

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