Healthcare utilization and patient and provider experience with a home visit program for patients discharged from the hospital at high risk for readmission.

BACKGROUND: Home visits after hospital discharge may reduce future healthcare utilization. We assessed the association of home visits by advanced practice registered nurses (APRN) and paramedics with healthcare utilization and mortality, and provider and patient experience. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using convergent mixed methods in one health system including adult medical patients discharged to home from November 2017-September 2019. We assessed outcomes for home visit vs. matched comparison patients at 30, 90, and 180 days, including hospital admission, emergency department (ED) use, and death: Phase 1 (APRN or paramedic visits assigned by geographic location) and Phase 2 (APRN and paramedic visit teams assigned to patients). Patients declining home visits and those accepting were also compared. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with home visit patients and providers, primary care providers, and nurse care coordinators. RESULTS: In Phase 1, the 101 home visit matched to 303 comparison patients showed no differences in readmissions, ED visits, or death at 30, 90, and 180 days. In Phase 2, 157 home visit matched to 471 comparison patients had fewer 30-day readmissions (19.1% vs. 28.7%, p 0.024) and no differences in other outcomes. Compared with patients declining home visits, patients accepting had lower odds of 30-day readmission. In 44 interviews, themes of Medication Understanding, Knowledge Gap after Discharge, Patient Medical Complexity, Social Context, and Patient Engagement/Need for Reassurance emerged. CONCLUSION: Post-discharge home visits by APRNs and paramedics working together were associated with reduced 30-day readmissions. Identified themes could inform strategies to improve patient support.

Home monitoring for COVID-19.

Cleveland Clinic recognized the importance of mitigating community transmission of COVID-19 by keeping people at home. Patient-care activities quickly pivoted to remote touches, preserving continuity through a variety of digital and telephonic modalities. As the number of confirmed cases grew, standardizing home-based care became critical to managing high-risk patients, moderating the risk of exposure for healthcare workers, and reducing the amount of community spread through appropriate education on home-based care for exposed or infected individuals. This novel, team-based approach to caring for patients with COVID-19 incorporates a self-monitoring app for patient engagement, monitors symptoms for early intervention, and promotes a holistic view of care.

Impact of Home Health Care on Health Care Resource Utilization Following Hospital Discharge: A Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: As healthcare costs rise, home health care represents an opportunity to reduce preventable adverse events and costs following hospital discharge. No studies have investigated the utility of home health care within the context of a large and diverse patient population. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1/1/2013 and 6/30/2015 at a single tertiary care institution to assess healthcare utilization after discharge with home health care. Control patients discharged with "self-care" were matched by propensity score to home health care patients. The primary outcome was total healthcare costs in the 365-day post-discharge period. Secondary outcomes included follow-up readmission and death. Multivariable linear and Cox proportional hazards regression were used to adjust for covariates. RESULTS: Among 64,541 total patients, 11,266 controls were matched to 6,363 home health care patients across 11 disease-based Institutes. During the 365-day post-discharge period, home health care was associated with a mean unadjusted savings of $15,233 per patient, or $6,433 after adjusting for covariates (p < 0.0001). Home health care independently decreased the hazard of follow-up readmission (HR 0.82, p < 0.0001) and death (HR 0.80, p < 0.0001). Subgroup analyses revealed that home health care most benefited patients discharged from the Digestive Disease (death HR 0.72, p < 0.01), Heart & Vascular (adjusted savings of $11,453, p < 0.0001), Medicine (readmission HR 0.71, p < 0.0001), and Neurological (readmission HR 0.67, p < 0.0001) Institutes. CONCLUSIONS: Discharge with home health care was associated with significant reduction in healthcare utilization and decreased hazard of readmission and death. These data inform development of value-based care plans.

Improving transitions: efficacy of a transfer form to communicate patients' wishes.

The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of a standardized form used during transfers between long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and the acute care setting. The intervention consisted of development and implementation of the transfer form and education about its use. Charts from 26 LTCFs and 1 acute care hospital were reviewed at 1 and 6 months prior to initiation of the transfer form (2007) and at 1 and 6 months after initiation of the transfer form (2008); 210 patient charts were reviewed in 2007 and 172 in 2008. There was 79% concordance between documented LTCF advance directives (ADs) and hospital ADs in 2008-an increase from 66.6% in 2007 (P = .038). Inpatient hospice/palliative care admissions rose from 1.5% in 2007 to 7.7% in 2009 (P = .015). The standardized transfer form improved communication of ADs between LTCFs and the hospital. Secondarily, it may have increased admissions to the acute palliative care unit.

Prevention, detection and intervention with delirium in an acute care hospital: a feasibility study.

Background. The prevalence of delirium in acute care hospitals ranges from 5-86%. Delirious patients are at greater risk of negative health outcomes and their care is often more costly. Aim. To determine the feasibility of a full-scale trial to test the effectiveness of an intervention designed to improve delirium prevention, detection and intervention in an acute care hospital. Design. A delirium prevention protocol was designed by an interdisciplinary group of clinicians and implemented on intervention unit patients who passed a mental status screen, were at high risk for delirium according to the modified NEECHAM scale, and met other eligibility criteria. These patients were reviewed at daily interdisciplinary team meetings and team recommendations were placed in the patient's chart. On the usual care unit, physicians were notified if their patients were at high risk, but the delirium protocol was not implemented. Methods. The delirium protocol was pilot tested with 35 high risk patients on an Acute Care for Elders (ACE) unit. Outcomes were compared to 35 high risk patients on a similar medical unit without the delirium protocol. Results. The main outcome examined whether there is a difference in average day 3 modified NEECHAM scores comparing the intervention and control groups. The mean modified NEECHAMs on day 3 were not statistically significantly different (intervention group 3.76 and control group 3.24) (P= 0.368). Baseline NEECHAM scores did not correlate well with development of delirium (P = 0.204). A history of confusion during a previous hospitalization was the strongest predictor of developing delirium during the current hospitalization. Conclusion. This pilot study was not powered to detect an effect of the intervention, however, feasibility for a fully powered trial was established. Relevance to clinical practice. Completion of the NEECHAM screen every shift was not considered burdensome for either nurses or patients and may help identify acute delirium.

Vitamin D supplementation to prevent falls in the elderly: evidence and practical considerations.

Pharmacists in both ambulatory and institutional settings are often in a position to help optimize the drug regimens of patients who are experiencing falls. Supplementation with vitamin D is an important emerging therapy for the prevention of falls. Numerous investigators have recently studied or reviewed the association between vitamin D supplementation and decreased risk of falls in elderly patients, yet little of this information is available in the pharmacy literature. A MEDLINE search was conducted to collect relevant articles about the role of vitamin D in preventing falls among elderly patients; recently published meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials were identified and reviewed. The studies indicated a statistically significant positive relationship between vitamin D supplementation with either cholecalciferol 700 IU/day or greater or ergocalciferol 800 IU/day or greater and decreased risk of falls. Other practical issues, including who should receive vitamin D replacement, what form of vitamin D should be used, and what dosage is required to prevent falls, are discussed.