Postdischarge Contacts Do Not Reduce 30-Day ED Visits, Readmissions

MONDAY, Jan. 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Postdischarge contacts (PDCs) with patients after hospitalization are not associated with reductions in 30-day emergency department use or 30-day readmissions, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published online Jan. 14 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Joel C. Boggan, M.D., M.P.H., from the Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System in North Carolina, and colleagues examined the effects of PDCs within seven days on 30-day emergency department visits, 30-day hospital readmissions, and patient satisfaction in a review of 13 studies (11 randomized trials).

Twelve of the studies delivered PDCs via telephone. Of the 11 randomized trials, three and one were rated as having low and high risk for bias, respectively. The researchers found that of the PDC interventions, most (10 PDCs) consisted of single telephone contacts, often within three days. Eight of the studies focused on patients who were identified by the authors as being at higher risk. No differences were seen in 30-day emergency department use or 30-day readmissions with PDCs.

“Although our review did not find evidence of significant effects of brief PDC approaches, health care systems should consider the cost-effectiveness of these relatively light-touch approaches on such costly outcomes as hospital readmissions,” the authors write. “Such considerations of widespread universal brief PDCs should be balanced with the potential to target investments in more intensive postdischarge approaches focused on patients most likely to benefit from these interventions.”

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