Unintended harm associated with the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program.
Using financial incentives to motivate health care improvement can have unintended consequences. This commentary examines how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program may have unintended consequences for postdischarge heart failure patients. The authors advocate for development of more effective policies and measures to reduce the potential for patient harm resulting from well-intentioned improvement efforts.