Skip to main content

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

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 14, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, Jan. 13, 2025 -- 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."

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

Read this next

Pulmonary Embolism More Common in Children Than Previously Thought

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Pulmonary embolism (PE) is more common in children than previously thought, according to a study presented at the American Thoracic Society 2025...

Half of Youth-Serving Clinicians Screen for Substance Use Disorder at Every Well Visit

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- Just over half of youth-serving clinicians report that they routinely screen adolescents for substance use disorders (SUDs) at every well visit...

Many Heart Failure Patients Do Not See a Cardiologist Annually

THURSDAY, May 22, 2025 -- About 40 percent of patients with heart failure diagnosis do not see a cardiologist annually, according to a study published online May 18 in the...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.