1. Evaluation of a multidisciplinary approach to reduce internal medicine readmissions using a readmission prediction index.
- Author
-
McConachie SM, Raub JN, Yost R, Monday L, Agrawal S, and Tannous P
- Subjects
- Adult, Aged, Cohort Studies, Electronic Health Records standards, Female, Forecasting, Humans, Internal Medicine methods, Male, Medication Reconciliation methods, Medication Reconciliation standards, Middle Aged, Pharmacy Service, Hospital methods, Pharmacy Service, Hospital standards, Pilot Projects, Retrospective Studies, Internal Medicine standards, Interprofessional Relations, Patient Readmission standards, Pharmacists standards, Professional Role
- Abstract
Purpose: Readmission prediction indices are used to stratify patients by the risk of hospital readmission. We describe the integration of a 30-day hospital readmission prediction index into the electronic medical record (EMR) and its impact on pharmacist interventions during transitions of care (TOC)., Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to compare 30-day readmission rates between adult internal medicine inpatients admitted by a multidisciplinary team providing TOC services (the TOC group) and those who received usual care (the control group). Interventions by a pharmacist serving on the TOC team were guided by an EMR-integrated readmission index, with patients at the highest risk for readmission receiving targeted pharmacist interventions. Inpatient encounters (n = 374) during the 5-month study period were retrospectively identified. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to analyze differences in nominal and nonparametric continuous variables, respectively. Logistic regression was performed to identify variables associated with 30-day readmissions. The log-rank test was used to analyze hazard ratios for readmission outcomes in the 2 cohorts., Results: Thirty-day readmission rates did not differ significantly in the TOC group and the control group (20.9% vs 18.3%, P = 0.52). However, patients who received additional direct pharmacist interventions, as guided by use of a hospital readmission index, had a lower 30-day readmission rate than patients who did not (11.4% vs 21.7%, P = 0.04). The readmission index score was significantly associated with the likelihood of 30-day readmission (odds ratio for readmission, 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.16-1.34; P < 0.01). The difference in unadjusted log-rank scores at 30 days with and without pharmacist intervention was not significant (P = 0.05). A mean of 4.5 medication changes were identified per medication reconciliation performed by the TOC pharmacist., Conclusion: A multidisciplinary TOC team approach did not reduce the 30-day readmission rate on an internal medicine service. However, patients who received additional direct pharmacist interventions guided by a readmission prediction index had a reduced readmission rate., (© American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2020. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)
- Published
- 2020
- Full Text
- View/download PDF