title: Relationship between Early Physician Follow-Up and 30-Day Readmission after Acute Myocardial Infarction and Heart Failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thirty-day readmission rates after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure are important patient outcome metrics. Early post-discharge physician follow-up has been promoted as a method of reducing 30-day readmission rates. However, the relationships between early post-discharge follow-up and 30-day readmission for AMI and heart failure are inconclusive. We used nationwide population-based data to examine associations between 7-day physician follow-up and 30-day readmission, and further associations of 7-day same physician (during the index hospitalization and at follow-up) and cardiologist follow-up with 30-day readmission for non-ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) or heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed all patients 18 years or older with NSTEMI and heart failure and discharged from hospitals in 2010 in Taiwan through Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Cox proportional hazard models with robust sandwich variance estimates and propensity score weighting were performed after adjustment for patient and hospital characteristics to test associations between 7-day physician follow-up and 30-day readmission.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study population for NSTEMI and heart failure included 5,008 and 13,577 patients, respectively. Early physician follow-up was associated with a lower hazard ratio of readmission compared with no early physician follow-up for patients with NSTEMI (hazard ratio [HR], 0.47; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.57), and for patients with heart failure (HR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.48-0.60). Same physician follow-up was associated with a reduced hazard ratio of readmission compared with different physician follow-up for patients with NSTEMI (HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.48-0.65), and for patients with heart failure (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.62-0.76).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  For each condition, patients who have an outpatient visit with a physician within 7 days of discharge have a lower risk of 30-day readmission. Moreover, patients who have an outpatient visit with the same physician within 7 days of discharge have a much lower risk of 30-day readmission.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Tung
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Cardinal Tien Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Guann-Ming
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, United States of America.
authors.forename: Hsien-Yen
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Management, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsung-Hsien
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6874-989X
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D010351:Patient Discharge; D010359:Patient Readmission; D010820:Physicians; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013624:Taiwan; D014481:United States