title: Do timely outpatient follow-up visits decrease hospital readmission rates?
abstract: It is widely believed that timely follow-up decreases hospital readmissions; however, the literature evaluating time to follow-up is limited. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of patients discharged from a tertiary care academic medical center and evaluated the relationship between outpatient follow-up appointments made and 30-day unplanned readmissions. Of 1044 patients discharged home, 518 (49.6%) patients had scheduled follow-up ≤14 days after discharge, 52 (4.9%) patients were scheduled ≥15 days after discharge, and 474 (45.4%) had no scheduled follow-up. There was no statistical difference in 30-day readmissions between patients with follow-up within 14 days and those with follow-up 15 days or longer from discharge (P = .36) or between patients with follow-up within 14 days and those without scheduled follow-up (P = .75). The timing of postdischarge follow-up did not affect readmissions. Further research is needed to determine such factors and to prospectively study time to outpatient follow-up after discharge and the decrease in readmission rates.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. kashiwagi.deanne@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Deanne T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Kashiwagi
authors.forename: M Caroline
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: Lisa L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Kirkland
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.forename: Prathibha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Varkey
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001071:Appointments and Schedules; D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010045:Outpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies