National Association of Health Data Organizations (NAHDO), Utah Research Center for Excellence in Public Health Informatics, and the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council propose a joint conference on 'methodological and policy issues and guidelines in tracking hospital readmissions'. Nationally, there is a growing concern that despite being an important tool in tracking quality of care, there is lack of consensus on important aspects of the methodology for tracking hospital readmissions, including standard measures for quality reporting based on readmissions. To address this issue effectively and to achieve multi-stakeholder synergy form across the nation, it is imperative that those who care about the issue, have knowledge and best practices to share, and have a need for a refined methodology, be brought together in a conference. The proposed conference would function as a facilitator for interaction between researchers, hospital personnel, public health officials, and other end-users, who will have the opportunity to voice their most frequent questions and concerns, and receive explanations and appropriate answers. ? ? ?
