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Do post discharge phone calls improve care transitions? A cluster-randomized trial.

ABSTRACT: The transition from hospital to home can expose patients to adverse events during the post discharge period. Post discharge care including phone calls may provide support for patients returning home but the impact on care transitions is unknown.To examine the effect of a 72-hour post discharge phone call on the patient's transition of care experience.Cluster-randomized control trial.Urban, academic medical center.General medical patients age 18 and older discharged home after hospitalization.Primary outcome measure was the Care Transition Measure (CTM-3) score, a validated measure of the quality of care transitions. Secondary measures included self-reported adherence to medication and follow up plans, and 30-day composite of emergency department (ED) visits and hospital readmission.328 patients were included in the study over an 6-month period. 114 (69%) received a post discharge phone call, and 214 of all patients in the study completed the follow outcome survey (65% response rate). A small difference in CTM-3 scores was observed between the intervention and control groups (1.87 points, 95% CI 0.47-3.27, p = 0.01). Self-reported adherence to treatment plans, ED visits, and emergency readmission rates were similar between the two groups (odds ratio 0.57, 95% CI 0.13-2.45, 1.20, 95% CI 0.61-2.37, and 1.18, 95% CI 0.53-2.61, respectively).A single post discharge phone call had a small impact on the quality of care transitions and no effect on hospital utilization. Higher intensity post discharge support may be required to improve the patient experience upon returning home.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01580774.

SUBMITTER: Soong C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4227814 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Do post discharge phone calls improve care transitions? A cluster-randomized trial.

Soong Christine C Kurabi Bochra B Wells David D Caines Lesley L Morgan Matthew W MW Ramsden Rebecca R Bell Chaim M CM

PloS one 20141111 11

<h4>Importance</h4>The transition from hospital to home can expose patients to adverse events during the post discharge period. Post discharge care including phone calls may provide support for patients returning home but the impact on care transitions is unknown.<h4>Objective</h4>To examine the effect of a 72-hour post discharge phone call on the patient's transition of care experience.<h4>Design</h4>Cluster-randomized control trial.<h4>Setting</h4>Urban, academic medical center.<h4>Participant ...[more]

PMID: 25386678

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Project description:Applying mobile phones in healthcare is increasingly prioritized to strengthen healthcare systems. Antenatal care has the potential to reduce maternal morbidity and improve newborns' survival but this benefit may not be realized in sub-Saharan Africa where the attendance and quality of care is declining. We evaluated the association between a mobile phone intervention and antenatal care in a resource-limited setting. We aimed to assess antenatal care in a comprehensive way taking into consideration utilisation of antenatal care as well as content and timing of interventions during pregnancy.This study was an open label pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial with primary healthcare facilities in Zanzibar as the unit of randomisation. 2550 pregnant women (1311 interventions and 1239 controls) who attended antenatal care at selected primary healthcare facilities were included at their first antenatal care visit and followed until 42 days after delivery. 24 primary health care facilities in six districts were randomized to either mobile phone intervention or standard care. The intervention consisted of a mobile phone text-message and voucher component. Primary outcome measure was four or more antenatal care visits during pregnancy. Secondary outcome measures were tetanus vaccination, preventive treatment for malaria, gestational age at last antenatal care visit, and antepartum referral.The mobile phone intervention was associated with an increase in antenatal care attendance. In the intervention group 44% of the women received four or more antenatal care visits versus 31% in the control group (OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.03-5.55). There was a trend towards improved timing and quality of antenatal care services across all secondary outcome measures although not statistically significant.The wired mothers' mobile phone intervention significantly increased the proportion of women receiving the recommended four antenatal care visits during pregnancy and there was a trend towards improved quality of care with more women receiving preventive health services, more women attending antenatal care late in pregnancy and more women with antepartum complications identified and referred. Mobile phone applications may contribute towards improved maternal and newborn health and should be considered by policy makers in resource-limited settings.

Project description:BackgroundEfforts to improve primary care diabetes management have assessed strategies across heterogeneous groups of patients and practices. However, there is substantial variability in how well practices implement interventions and achieve desired outcomes.ObjectiveTo examine practice contextual features that moderate intervention effectiveness.DesignSecondary analysis of data from a cluster randomized trial of three approaches for implementing the Chronic Care Model to improve diabetes care.ParticipantsForty small to mid-sized primary care practices participated, with 522 clinician and staff member surveys. Outcomes were assessed for 822 established patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes who had at least one visit to the practice in the 18 months following enrollment.Main measuresThe primary outcome was a composite measure of diabetes process of care, ascertained by chart audit, regarding nine quality measures from the American Diabetes Association Physician Recognition Program: HgA1c, foot exam, blood pressure, dilated eye exam, cholesterol, nephropathy screen, flu shot, nutrition counseling, and self-management support. Data from practices included structural and demographic characteristics and Practice Culture Assessment survey subscales (Change Culture, Work Culture, Chaos).Key resultsAcross the three implementation approaches, demographic/structural characteristics (rural vs. urban + .70(p = .006), +2.44(p < .001), -.75(p = .004)); Medicaid: < 20 % vs. ≥ 20 % (-.20(p = .48), +.75 (p = .08), +.60(p = .02)); practice size: < 4 clinicians vs. ≥ 4 clinicians (+.56(p = .02), +1.96(p < .001), +.02(p = .91)); practice Change Culture (high vs. low: -.86(p = .048), +1.71(p = .005), +.34(p = .22)), Work Culture (high vs. low: -.67(p = .18), +2.41(p < .001), +.67(p = .005)) and variability in practice Change Culture (high vs. low: -.24(p = .006), -.20(p = .0771), -.44(p = .0019) and Work Culture (high vs. low: +.56(p = .3160), -1.0(p = .008), -.25 (p = .0216) were associated with trajectories of change in diabetes process of care, either directly or differentially by study arm.ConclusionsThis study supports the need for broader use of methodological approaches to better examine contextual effects on implementation and effectiveness of quality improvement interventions in primary care settings.

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Medication adverse events are important and common yet are often not identified by clinicians. We evaluated an automated telephone surveillance system coupled with transfer to a live pharmacist to screen potentially drug-related symptoms after newly starting medications for four common primary care conditions: hypertension, diabetes, depression, and insomnia. METHODS:Cluster randomized trial with automated calls to eligible patients at 1 and 4 months after starting target drugs from intervention primary care clinics compared to propensity-matched patients from control clinics. Primary and secondary outcomes were physician documentation of any adverse effects associated with newly prescribed target medication, and whether the medication was discontinued and, if yes, whether the reason for stopping was an adverse effect. RESULTS:Of 4876 eligible intervention clinic patients who were contacted using automated calls, 776 (15.1%) responded and participated in the automated call. Based on positive symptom responses or request to speak to a pharmacist, 320 patients were transferred to the pharmacist and discussed 1021 potentially drug-related symptoms. Of these, 188 (18.5%) were assessed as probably and 479 (47.1%) as possibly related to the medication. Compared to a propensity-matched cohort of control clinic patients, intervention patients were significantly more likely to have adverse effects documented in the medical record by a physician (277 vs. 164 adverse effects, p?<?0.0001, and 177 vs. 122 patients discontinued with documented adverse effects, p?<?0.0001). DISCUSSION:Systematic automated telephone outreach monitoring coupled with real-time phone referral to a pharmacist identified a substantial number of previously unidentified potentially drug-related symptoms, many of which were validated as probably or possibly related to the drug by the pharmacist or their physicians. Multiple challenges were encountered using the interactive voice response (IVR) automated calling system, suggesting that other approaches may need to be considered and evaluated. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT02087293.

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Do post discharge phone calls improve care transitions? A cluster-randomized trial.

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Do post discharge phone calls improve care transitions? A cluster-randomized trial.

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