The Medical journal of Australia
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To examine the impact of breathlessness on quality of life, health care use, productivity loss, and economic costs in Australia. ⋯ Breathlessness imposes major burdens on individuals, the health care system, and the economy.
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To assess the direct hospital costs for unplanned re-admissions within 30 days of hospitalisations with heart failure in Australia; to estimate the proportion of these costs attributable to potentially preventable re-admissions. ⋯ Unplanned re-admissions after hospitalisations with heart failure are expensive, incurring costs equivalent to 32% of those for the initial hospitalisations; a large proportion of these costs are associated with potentially preventable re-admissions. Reducing the number of unplanned re-admissions could improve outcomes for people with heart failure and reduce hospital costs.