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Preventable Hospitalizations - Ages 65-74 in United States
United States
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United States Value:
1,477
Discharges following hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (PQI 90) per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries ages 65-74 enrolled in the fee-for-service program
Preventable Hospitalizations - Ages 65-74 in depth:
Additional Measures:
Explore Population Data:
Appears In:
Preventable Hospitalizations - Ages 65-74 by State: Female
Discharges following hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (PQI 90) per 100,000 female Medicare beneficiaries ages 65-74 enrolled in the fee-for-service program
Preventable Hospitalizations - Ages 65-74 in
Data from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health, Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, 2023
<= 1,067
1,068 - 1,232
1,233 - 1,468
1,469 - 1,697
>= 1,698
Preventable Hospitalizations - Ages 65-74: Female
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health, Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, 2023
About Preventable Hospitalizations - Ages 65-74
US Value: 1,477
Top State(s): Colorado: 766
Bottom State(s): West Virginia: 2,470
Definition: Discharges following hospitalization for ambulatory care-sensitive conditions (PQI 90) per 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries ages 65-74 enrolled in the fee-for-service program
Data Source and Years(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health, Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, 2023
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of Minority Health, Mapping Medicare Disparities Tool, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2025.
Some hospital admissions related to chronic conditions or acute illnesses are avoidable through adequate management and treatment in outpatient settings. Preventable hospitalizations indicate an overuse of the hospital as a primary source of routine care. It provides insight into issues with accessibility and quality of outpatient primary care services.
Preventable hospitalizations place financial burdens on patients, insurance providers and hospitals. In 2017, preventable hospitalizations cost the United States an estimated $33.7 billion, the majority for chronic conditions such as heart failure, diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Patients age 65 and older have by far the highest rate of preventable hospitalizations
According to America’s Health Rankings analysis, the prevalence of preventable hospitalizations is higher among:
- Older men compared with older women.
- American Indian/Alaska Native and Black older adults compared with Asian/Pacific Islander and white older adults.
Additional research has found that older adults who live in low-income neighborhoods and older adults with dementia are also disproportionately affected by preventable hospitalizations.
Some hospitalizations may be prevented through adequate management and treatment in outpatient settings. For older adults, continuous care with a physician is associated with fewer preventable hospitalizations. Strategies that target populations at high risk of hospitalization — such as older adults, patients taking various medications and those with multiple conditions or functional impairments — are effective at reducing the risk of 30-day hospital readmission.
There are individual steps older adults can take to stay healthy, including the following:
- Eating a healthy, balanced diet.
- Engaging in regular physical activity.
- Not smoking.
- Getting preventive care checkups.
Healthy People 2030 has an objective to reduce the proportion of preventable hospitalizations in older adults with dementia.
Anderson, Timothy S., Edward R. Marcantonio, Ellen P. McCarthy, and Shoshana J. Herzig. “National Trends in Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations of Older Adults with Dementia.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 68, no. 10 (June 2020): 2240–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16636.
Kringos, Dionne S., Wienke G. W. Boerma, Allen Hutchinson, Jouke van der Zee, and Peter P. Groenewegen. “The Breadth of Primary Care: A Systematic Literature Review of Its Core Dimensions.” BMC Health Services Research 10, no. 1 (December 2010): 65. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-10-65.
Kripalani, Sunil, Cecelia N. Theobald, Beth Anctil, and Eduard E. Vasilevskis. “Reducing Hospital Readmission Rates: Current Strategies and Future Directions.” Annual Review of Medicine 65, no. 1 (January 14, 2014): 471–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-med-022613-090415.
Mahmoudi, Elham, Neil Kamdar, Allison Furgal, Ananda Sen, Phillip Zazove, and Julie Bynum. “Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations Among Older Adults: 2010-2014.” The Annals of Family Medicine 18, no. 6 (November 2020): 511–19. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2605.
McDermott, Kimberly W., and H. Joanna Jiang. “Characteristics and Costs of Potentially Preventable Inpatient Stays, 2017.” HCUP Statistical Brief #259. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, June 2020. https://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb259-Potentially-Preventable-Hospitalizations-2017.jsp.
Moy, Ernest, Eva Chang, and Marguerite Barrett. “Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations - United States, 2001-2009.” MMWR Supplements 62, no. 3 (November 22, 2013): 139–43. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6203a23.htm.
Nyweide, David J., Denise L. Anthony, Julie P. W. Bynum, Robert L. Strawderman, William B. Weeks, Lawrence P. Casalino, and Elliott S. Fisher. “Continuity of Care and the Risk of Preventable Hospitalization in Older Adults.” JAMA Internal Medicine 173, no. 20 (November 11, 2013): 1879–85. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.10059.
Rosano, Aldo, Christian Abo Loha, Roberto Falvo, Jouke van der Zee, Walter Ricciardi, Gabriella Guasticchi, and Antonio Giulio de Belvis. “The Relationship between Avoidable Hospitalization and Accessibility to Primary Care: A Systematic Review.” European Journal of Public Health 23, no. 3 (May 29, 2012): 356–60. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/cks053.
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