Dataset Information

Examination of Post-discharge Follow-up Appointment Status and 30-Day Readmission.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Post-hospital discharge follow-up appointments are intended to evaluate patients' recovery following a hospitalization, but it is unclear how appointment statuses are associated with readmissions.

Objective

To examine the association between post-discharge ambulatory follow-up status, (1) having a scheduled appointment and (2) arriving to said appointment, and 30-day readmission.

Design and setting

A retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized at 12 hospitals in an Integrated Delivery Network and their ambulatory appointments in that same network.

Patients and main measures

We included 50,772 patients who had an ambulatory appointment within 18 months of an inpatient admission in 2018. Primary outcome was readmission within 30 days post-discharge.

Key results

There were 32,108 (63.2%) patients with scheduled follow-up appointments and 18,664 (36.8%) patients with no follow-up; 28,313 (88.2%) patients arrived, 3149 (9.8%) missed, and 646 (2.0%) were readmitted prior to their scheduled appointments. Overall 30-day readmission rate was 7.3%; 6.0% [5.75-6.31] for those who arrived, 8.8% [8.44-9.25] for those without follow-up, and 10.3% [9.28-11.40] for those who missed a scheduled appointment (p < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, patients who arrived at their appointment in the first week following discharge were significantly less likely to be readmitted than those not having any follow-up scheduled (medical adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 0.57 [0.47-0.69], p < 0.001; surgical aHR 0.58 [0.44-0.75], p < 0.001) There was an increased risk at weeks 3 and 4 for medical patients who arrived at a follow-up compared to those with no follow-up scheduled (week 3 aHR 1.29 [1.10-1.51], p = 0.001; week 4 aHR 1.46 [1.26-1.70], p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The benefit of patients arriving to their post-discharge appointments compared with patients who missed their follow-up visits or had no follow-up scheduled, is only significant during first week post-discharge, suggesting that coordination within 1 week of discharge is critical in reducing 30-day readmissions.

SUBMITTER: Coppa K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8131454 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Examination of Post-discharge Follow-up Appointment Status and 30-Day Readmission.

Coppa Kevin K Kim Eun Ji EJ Oppenheim Michael I MI Bock Kevin R KR Conigliaro Joseph J Hirsch Jamie S JS

Journal of general internal medicine 20210119 5

<h4>Background</h4>Post-hospital discharge follow-up appointments are intended to evaluate patients' recovery following a hospitalization, but it is unclear how appointment statuses are associated with readmissions.<h4>Objective</h4>To examine the association between post-discharge ambulatory follow-up status, (1) having a scheduled appointment and (2) arriving to said appointment, and 30-day readmission.<h4>Design and setting</h4>A retrospective cohort study of patients hospitalized at 12 hospi ...[more]

PMID: 33469750

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Project description:BackgroundSeveral care transition interventions propose that post-discharge phone calls can reduce adverse events and decrease costly return visits to the hospital. However, given the multi-faceted nature of most care transitions interventions, the true relationship between post-discharge phone calls and readmissions in a real world setting is uncertain.ObjectiveTo determine the effect of receiving a post-discharge telephone call on all-cause 30-day readmission in a general medicine population.DesignRetrospective observational study.ParticipantsPatients discharged home from the Medicine Service at a tertiary care academic medical center between November 2010 and May 2012.InterventionPatients received two telephone call attempts by a nurse within 72 h of discharge. Nurses followed a standard script to address issues associated with readmission.Main outcome and measuresBilling data captured readmissions. We used logistic regression-adjusted patient and clinical covariates as well as a propensity score representing likelihood of being called to determine the association between call receipt and risk for readmission.Key resultsThere were 5,507 eligible patients. In unadjusted analyses, patients who received a call and completed the intervention were significantly less likely to be readmitted compared to those who did not [155 (5.8 %) vs 123 (8.6 %), p < 0.01]. In multivariable models adjusting for socio-demographic and clinical covariates alone, completing a post-discharge telephone call intervention was associated with lower odds for readmission (AOR 0.71; 95 % CI: 0.55-0.91). However, when models adjusted for the likelihood of receiving the phone call using the propensity score, no association between call receipt and readmission was observed (AOR 0.91; 95%CI: 0.69-1.20).ConclusionsEffectiveness of post-discharge phone call programs may be more related to whether patients are able to answer a phone call than to the care delivered by the phone call. Programs would benefit from improving their ability to perform phone outreach while simultaneously improving on the care delivered during the calls.

Project description:Rehospitalizations within 30 days of discharge are responsible for a large portion of healthcare spending. One approach to preventing rehospitalizations is early follow-up, usually defined as an office visit with a primary care physician within 7 days of discharge--an approach that is being incentivized by health plans. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness is limited.We aimed to determine whether an office visit with a primary care physician within 7 days after discharge is associated with 30-day rehospitalization.This was an observational study set within a randomized trial.The study included patients age 65 and older receiving care from a multi-specialty group practice and discharged from hospital to home between 26 August 2010 and 25 August 2011. To control for confounding, we identified characteristics of patients and hospital stays that are predictive of rehospitalization, and also developed high-dimensional propensity scores. Analyses used Cox proportional hazards models and took into account varying amounts of opportunity time for office visits.We looked at 30-day rehospitalizations at any hospital.Of 3,661 patients discharged to home during the study year, 707 (19.3%) were rehospitalized within 30 days. Patients receiving an office visit within 7 days numbered 1,808 (49.4%), and of these, 1,000 (27.3%) were with a primary care physician. In models predicting rehospitalization, stratified on deciles of propensity score and controlling for additional confounders, the hazard ratios associated with office visits with a primary care physician within 7 days were 0.98 (95% CI 0.80, 1.21); for visits with any physician, the hazard ratio was HR 1.04, (95% CI 0.87, 1.25).We found no protective effect for office visits within 7 days. Such visits may need to be specifically focused on a range of issues related to the specific reasons why patients are rehospitalized. It is likely that outpatient visits will need to be set within comprehensive transition programs.

Project description:BackgroundPrevious studies have identified disparities in readmissions among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program's (HRRP's) priority conditions. Evidence suggests timely follow-up is associated with reduced risk of readmission, but it is unknown whether timely follow-up reduces disparities in readmission.ObjectiveTo assess whether follow-up within 7 days after discharge from a hospitalization reduces risk of readmission and mitigates identified readmission disparities.DesignA retrospective cohort study using Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the associations between sociodemographic characteristics (race and ethnicity, dual-eligibility status, rurality, and area social deprivation), follow-up, and readmission. Mediation analysis was used to examine if disparities in readmission were mitigated by follow-up.ParticipantsWe analyzed data from 749,402 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, or pneumonia, and discharged home between January 1 and December 1, 2018.Main measureAll-cause unplanned readmission within 30 days after discharge.Key resultsPost-discharge follow-up within 7 days of discharge was associated with a substantially lower risk of readmission (HR: 0.52, 95% CI: 0.52-0.53). Across all four HRRP conditions, beneficiaries with dual eligibility and beneficiaries living in areas with high social deprivation had a higher risk of readmission. Non-Hispanic Black beneficiaries had higher risk of readmission after hospitalization for pneumonia relative to non-Hispanic Whites. Mediation analysis suggested that 7-day follow-up mediated 21.2% of the disparity in the risk of readmission between dually and non-dually eligible beneficiaries and 50.7% of the disparity in the risk of readmission between beneficiaries living in areas with the highest and lowest social deprivation. Analysis suggested that after hospitalization for pneumonia, 7-day follow-up mediated nearly all (97.5%) of the increased risk of readmission between non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White beneficiaries.ConclusionsImproving rates of follow-up could be a strategy to reduce readmissions for all beneficiaries and reduce disparities in readmission based on sociodemographic characteristics.

Project description:BackgroundRestrictive transfusion strategies supported by large randomized trials are resulting in decreased blood utilization in cardiac surgery. What remains to be determined, however, is the impact of lower discharge hemoglobin (Hb) levels on readmission rates. We assessed patients with higher versus lower Hb levels on discharge to compare 30-day readmission rates after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated 1552 patients undergoing isolated CABG at our institution from January 2013 to May 2016. We evaluated 2 Hb cohorts: "high" (above) and "low" (below) the mean discharge Hb level of 9.4 g/dL, comparing patient characteristics, blood utilization, and clinical outcomes including 30-day readmission rates. We further evaluated the effects of the lowest (<8 g/dL) discharge Hb levels on 30-day readmission rates by dividing the patients into 4 anemia cohorts based on discharge Hb levels: "no anemia" (>12 g/dL), "mild anemia" (10-11.9 g/dL), "moderate anemia" (8-9.9 g/dL), and "severe anemia" (<8 g/dL). Risk adjustment accounted for age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, preoperative comorbidities, revision sternotomy, and patient blood management program implementation.ResultsThe "high" and "low" groups had similar patient characteristics except for Hb levels (mean discharge Hb was 10.4 ± 0.9 vs 8.5 ± 0.6 g/dL, respectively). Notably, no evidence for a difference in 30-day readmission rates was noted between the "high" (76/746; 10.2%) and "low" (97/806; 12.0%) (P = .25) Hb cohorts. The 4 anemia cohorts had differences in age, revision sternotomy incidence, Hb levels, certain patient comorbidities, and time to readmission. On multivariable analysis, the risk-adjusted odds of readmission in the "low" Hb cohort (odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-1.61; P = .36) was not significant compared to the "high" Hb cohort. Compared to patients with discharge Hb ≥8 g/dL, patients with Hb <8 g/dL had a higher incidence of readmission (22/129; 17.1% vs 151/1423; 10.6%; P = .036). On multivariable analysis, Hb <8 g/dL on discharge was predictive of readmission (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-2.88; P = .03). The most common reason for readmission was volume overload, followed by infection and arrhythmias.ConclusionsA discharge Hb level below the institution mean for CABG patients does not provide evidence for an association with an increased 30-day readmission rate. In the small number of patients discharged with Hb <8 g/dL, there is a suggestion of increased risk for readmission and larger more controlled studies are needed to verify or refute this finding.

Project description:BackgroundWe sought to determine if discharge home with home health care (HHC) is an independent predictor of increased readmission after pancreatectomy.Study designWe examined 30-day readmissions in patients undergoing pancreatectomy using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project State Inpatient Database for California from 2009 to 2011. Readmissions were categorized as severe or nonsevere using the Modified Accordion Severity Grading System. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the association of discharge home with HHC and 30-day readmission using discharge home without HHC as the reference group. Propensity score matching was used as an additional analysis to compare the rate of 30-day readmission between patients discharged home with HHC with patients discharged home without HHC.ResultsOf 3,573 patients who underwent pancreatectomy, 752 (21.0%) were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. In a multivariable logistic regression model, discharge home with HHC was an independent predictor of increased 30-day readmission (odds ratio = 1.37; 95% CI, 1.11-1.69; p = 0.004). Using propensity score matching, patients who received HHC had a significantly increased rate of 30-day readmission compared with patients discharged home without HHC (24.3% vs 19.8%; p < 0.001). Patients discharged home with HHC had a significantly increased rate of nonsevere readmission compared with those discharged home without HHC, by univariate comparison (19.2% vs 13.9%; p < 0.001), but not severe readmission (6.4% vs 4.7%; p = 0.08). In multivariable logistic regression models, excluding patients discharged to facilities, discharge home with HHC was an independent predictor of increased nonsevere readmissions (odds ratio = 1.41; 95% CI, 1.11-1.79; p = 0.005), but not severe readmissions (odds ratio = 1.31; 95% CI, 0.88-1.93; p = 0.18).ConclusionsDischarge home with HHC after pancreatectomy is an independent predictor of increased 30-day readmission; specifically, these services are associated with increased nonsevere readmissions, but not severe readmissions.

Project description:ImportanceAlthough early fluid administration has been shown to lower sepsis mortality, positive fluid balance has been associated with adverse outcomes. Little is known about associations in non-intensive care unit settings, with growing concern about readmission from excess fluid accumulation in patients with sepsis.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether positive fluid balance among non-critically ill patients with sepsis was associated with increased readmission risk, including readmission for heart failure.Design, setting, and participantsThis multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2017, among 57 032 non-critically ill adults hospitalized for sepsis at 21 hospitals across Northern California. Kaiser Permanente Northern California is an integrated health care system with a community-based population of more than 4.4 million members. Statistical analysis was performed from January 1 to December 31, 2019.ExposuresIntake and output net fluid balance (I/O) measured daily and cumulatively at discharge (positive vs negative).Main outcomes and measuresThe primary outcome was 30-day readmission. The secondary outcomes were readmission stratified by category and mortality after living discharge.ResultsThe cohort included 57 032 patients who were hospitalized for sepsis (28 779 women [50.5%]; mean [SD] age, 73.7 [15.5] years). Compared with patients with positive I/O (40 940 [71.8%]), those with negative I/O (16 092 [28.2%]) were older, with increased comorbidity, acute illness severity, preexisting heart failure or chronic kidney disease, diuretic use, and decreased fluid administration volume. During 30-day follow-up, 8719 patients (15.3%) were readmitted and 3639 patients (6.4%) died. There was no difference in readmission between patients with positive vs negative I/O (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.95-1.05). No association was detected between readmission and I/O using continuous, splined, and quadratic function transformations. Positive I/O was associated with decreased heart failure-related readmission (HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.71-0.91]) and increased 30-day mortality (HR, 1.23 [95% CI, 1.15-1.31]).Conclusions and relevanceIn this large observational study of non-critically ill patients hospitalized with sepsis, there was no association between positive fluid balance at the time of discharge and readmission. However, these findings may have been limited by variable recording and documentation of fluid intake and output; additional studies are needed to examine the association of fluid status with outcomes in patients with sepsis to reduce readmission risk.

Project description:Background and purposeEmergency colectomies are associated with a higher risk of complications compared to elective ones. A critical assessment of complications occurring beyond post-operative day 30 (POD30) is lacking. This study aimed to assess the readmission rate and factors associated with readmission 6-months following emergency colectomy.MethodsA retrospective cohort study of adult patients who underwent emergency colectomy (2010-2018) was performed using the Nationwide Readmissions Database. The cohort was divided into two groups: (i) no readmission and (ii) emergency readmission(s) for complications related to colectomy (defined using ICD-9/10 codes). Readmissions were categorized as either "early" (POD0-30) or "late" (> POD30). Differences between groups were described and multivariable regression controlling for relevant covariates defined a priori were used to identify factors associated with timing of readmission and cost.ResultsOf 141,481 eligible cases, 13.22% (n = 18,699) were readmitted within 6-months of emergency colectomy for colectomy-related complications, 61.63% of which were "late" readmissions (> POD30). The most common reasons for "late" readmission were for bleeding, gastrointestinal, and infectious complications (20.80%, 25.30%, and 32.75%, respectively). On multiple logistic regression, female gender (OR 1.12; 95%CI 1.04-1.21), open procedures (OR 1.12, 95%CI 1.011-1.24), and sigmoidectomies (OR 1.51, 95%CI 1.39-1.65, relative to right hemicolectomies) were the strongest predictors of "late" readmission. On multiple linear regression, "late" readmissions were associated with a $1717.09 USD (95%CI $1717.05-$1717.12) increased cost compared to "early" readmissions.DiscussionThe majority of colectomy-related readmissions following emergency colectomy occur beyond POD30 and are associated with cases that are of overall higher morbidity, as well as open sigmoidectomies. Given the associated increased cost of care, mitigation of such readmissions by close follow-up prior to and beyond POD30 is advisable.

Project description:BackgroundHospital readmission rates within 30 days after acute myocardial infarction are a national performance metric. Previous data suggest that early physician follow-up after heart failure hospitalizations can reduce readmissions; whether these results can be extended to acute myocardial infarction is unclear.Methods and resultsWe analyzed data from the Can Rapid Risk Stratification of Unstable Angina Patients Suppress Adverse Outcomes With Early Implementation of the ACC/AHA Guidelines (CRUSADE) Registry linked with Medicare claims from 2003 to 2006 for 25 872 non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients ≥65 years of age discharged home from 228 hospitals with >25 patients and full revascularization capabilities. After adjusting for patient, treatment, and hospital characteristics, we examined the relationship between hospital-level physician follow-up within 7 days of discharge and 30-day all-cause readmission using logistic regression. The median hospital-level percentage of patients receiving early physician follow-up was 23.3% (interquartile range, 17.1%-29.1%). Among 24 165 patients with Medicare fee-for-service eligibility 30 days after discharge, 18.5% of patients were readmitted within 30 days of index hospitalization. Unadjusted and adjusted rates of 30-day readmission did not differ among quartiles of hospital-level early physician follow-up. Similarly, each 5% increase in hospital early follow-up was associated with an insignificant change in risk for readmission (adjusted odds ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.97-1.02; P=0.60). Sensitivity analyses extended these null findings to 30-day cardiovascular readmissions, high-risk subgroups, and early cardiology follow-up.ConclusionsAlthough rates of early physician follow-up after acute myocardial infarction varied among US hospitals, hospitals with higher early follow-up rates did not have lower 30-day readmission rates. Targeting strategies other than early physician follow-up may be necessary to reduce readmissions in this population.

Dataset Information

Examination of Post-discharge Follow-up Appointment Status and 30-Day Readmission.

Background

Objective

Design and setting

Patients and main measures

Key results

Conclusions

Publications

Examination of Post-discharge Follow-up Appointment Status and 30-Day Readmission.

Similar Datasets

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