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Automated telephone follow‐up programs after hospital discharge: Do older adults engage with these programs?

Authors :
James D. Harrison
Rebecca L. Sudore
Andrew D. Auerbach
Sachin Shah
Sandra Oreper
Margaret 'Meg' Wheeler
Margaret C. Fang
Source :
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 70:2980-2987
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
Wiley, 2022.

Abstract

Health systems have developed automated telephone call programs to screen and triage patients' post-hospital discharge issues and concerns. The aims of our study were to determine whether and how older adults engage with automated post-hospital discharge telephone programs and to describe the prevalence of patient-reported post-discharge issues.We identified all telephone calls made by an urban academic medical center as part of a post-hospital discharge program between May 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019. The program used automated telephone outreach to patients or their caregivers that included 11 distinct steps 3 days post-discharge. All adults discharged home from the hospital, were included, and we categorized patients into ≤64 years, 65-84 years, and ≥85 years age groups. We then compared call reach rate, completeness of 11-step calls and patient-reported issues between age groups.Eighteen thousand and seventy six patients were included. More patients 65-84 years old were reached compared to patients ≤64 years old (84.3% vs. 78.9%, AME 5.52%; 95%CI: 3.58%-7.45%). Completion rates of automated calls for those ≥85 years old were also high. Patients ≥85 years old were more likely to have questions about their follow-up plans and need assistance scheduling appointments compared to those ≤64 years old (19.0% vs. 11.9%, AME 7.0% (95%CI: 2.7%-11.3%).Post-hospital automated telephone calls are feasible and effective at reaching older adults. Future work should focus on improving discharge communication to ensure older adults are aware of their follow-up plan and appointments.

Details

ISSN :
15325415 and 00028614
Volume :
70
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....e328e745938cd48d42c1511163a07336