early readmission case
(13) Notwithstanding paragraph (4), the organization shall perform the review described in paragraph (1) with respect to early readmission cases to determine if the previous inpatient hospital services and the post-hospital services met professionally recognized standards of health care. Such reviews may be performed on a sample basis if the organization and the Secretary determine it to be appropriate. In this paragraph, an “early readmission case” is a case in which an individual, after discharge from a hospital, is readmitted to a hospital less than 31 days after the date of the most recent previous discharge.