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Readmission to the ICU is considered a serious adverse event. The medical and economic impact of this complication is so significant, that a percentage of ICU readmissions is today considered an indicator of ICU quality. This review paper analyzes the available literature on epidemiology, prediction and the clinical effects of ICU readmissions. It turns out that there are no publications on this subject in the Polish literature. Data from other countries indicate, that a percentage of ICU readmissions depends on a variety of factors and is ranging from 2% to 15%. Hospitalization time after ICU readmission is longer and hospital mortality is higher. We do not have reliable tools for the prediction of this complication. In the Polish healthcare system, multidisciplinary ICUs are run by specialists in anaesthesiology and intensive therapy. Patients discharged from these departments constitute a high-risk population and are further referred to doctors representing various medical specialities. Few available data indicate that long-term outcomes of patients discharged from Polish ICU are very bad, especially in the elderly. The problem of maintaining proper continuity of treatment after discharge from a high level ofmedical supervision is therefore very important to ensure coordinated medical care.

Heart failure has becoming an increasing medical, economic, and social problem globally. The prevalence of this syndrome is rising, and despite unequivocal positive effects of modern therapy, reduction of mortality has been achieved at the cost of more frequent hospitalisations. Unlike in many European countries, in Poland heart failure is usually recognised later, at a more advanced stage of the disease, leaving less time for ambulatory treatment and resulting in a high number of hospitalisations. The current paper presents the most important data regarding morbidity and mortality due to heart failure in Poland. The experts in the field focus on the key source of high costs of therapy and highlight several critical organisational deficits present in the Polish health care system. This background information builds a basis for a concept of coordinated care for patients with heart failure. The paper discusses the fundamental elements of the system of coordinated care for patients with heart failure necessary to enhance the diagnosis, improve therapeutic effects, and reduce medical, economic, and social costs.