JAMA internal medicine
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JAMA internal medicine · Jun 2013
Effects of an acute care for elders unit on costs and 30-day readmissions.
Providing high-quality care while containing cost is essential for the economic stability of our health care system. The United States is experiencing a rapidly growing elderly population. The Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit interdisciplinary team model of care has been shown to improve outcomes in hospitalized older adults. The University of Alabama at Birmingham ACE unit incorporates evidence-based care processes. We hypothesized that the ACE model would also reduce costs. ⋯ The ACE unit team model reduces costs and 30-day readmissions. In an era when improving care processes while reducing costs is a vital objective for the Medicare program and our nation as a whole, the ACE model meets these goals.