Optimal Timing of Physician Visits after Hospital Discharge to Reduce Readmission.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:To identify the optimal timing of in-person physician visit after hospital discharge to yield the largest reduction in readmission among elderly or chronically ill patients. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING/EXTRACTION METHODS:We extracted insurance billing data on 620,656 admissions for any cause from 2002 to 2009 in Quebec, Canada. STUDY DESIGN:We used flexible survival models to estimate inverse probability weights for the precise timing (days) of in-person physician visit after discharge and weighted competing risk outcome models. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Readmission reduction associated with in-person physician visits (compared to none) was seen early after discharge, with 67.8 fewer readmissions per 1,000 discharges if physician visit occurred within 7 days (95 percent CI: 66.7-69.0), a

SUBMITTER: Riverin BD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6232431 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature