Journal for healthcare quality : official publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality
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Review Meta Analysis
Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials That Evaluate the Effectiveness of Hospital-Initiated Postdischarge Interventions on Hospital Readmission.
Under pressure to avoid readmissions, hospitals are increasingly employing hospital-initiated postdischarge interventions (HiPDI), such as home visits and follow-up phone calls, to help patients after discharge. This study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of HiPDI on reducing hospital readmissions using a systematic review of clinical trials published between 1990 and 2014. We analyzed twenty articles on HiPDI (from 503 reviewed abstracts) containing 7,952 index hospitalizations followed for a median 3 months (range 1-24) after discharge for readmission. ⋯ Patients receiving ≥2 postdischarge home visits or ≥2 follow-up phone calls had the lowest likelihood of readmission (OR, 0.5 [95% CI, 0.4-0.8]). Hospital-initiated postdischarge interventions seem to have an effect on reducing hospital readmissions. Together, multiple home visits and follow-up phone calls may be the most effective HiPDI to reduce hospital readmission.