title: 30-day readmissions among seriously ill older adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inpatient palliative consultation are generally provided to seriously ill hospitalized patients with the intent to alleviate pain and suffering and develop a plan of care for the patient. Although numerous benefits of this service have been documented, little is known about hospital readmission rates and factors associated with these readmissions.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to investigate factors associated with 30-day hospital readmission among patients receiving a consultation from an inpatient palliative care (ICP) team.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from 408 managed care patients 65 years old and older were collected in 2007-2009 following an IPC consultation and subsequent hospital discharge.
  
  
  METHODS
  IPC and medical service use records were utilized.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among IPC patients, 10% of those discharged from the hospital were readmitted within 30 days. Factors associated with hospital readmission included being discharged from the hospital with no care in the home or to a nursing facility. Receipt of hospice or home-based palliative care post-discharge was associated with significantly lower odds of hospital readmission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study found that receipt of palliative care following hospital discharge was an important factor in reducing 30-day hospital readmissions. Further study is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of longitudinal palliative care models in reducing 30-day hospital readmissions among seriously ill patients.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, California 90089-0191, USA. Enguidan@usc.edu
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Enguidanos
authors.forename: Evie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vesper
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lorenz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D057189:Checklist; D016638:Critical Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D010166:Palliative Care; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors