Why does the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) believe that prevention of inpatient admissions will improve the quality of care in populations served by hospitals? What specific age group and diagnoses does the CMS monitor for readmissions? Does research tell us that so far prevention of readmissions has improved the quality of care for patients? How has hospital reimbursement been affected by the readmission standard mandated by the CMS? What recommendations (best practices) to decrease hospital readmissions have been suggested by experts in the healthcare field?