Effect of Post-discharge Phone Calls on Patient Outcomes

Effect of Post-discharge Phone Calls on Patient Outcomes for General Internal Medicine Patients Discharged From a Teaching Hospital.

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a post-discharge telephone call to general medical patients discharged home will improve quality of care and adherence, and reduce hospital readmission.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Transition

Detailed Description

Currently, discharge from hospital in many institutions is a confusing process for patients filled with uncertainty and potential for harm. For instance, 1 in 5 discharges results in a post discharge adverse event, many of which are related to medication errors. These may lead to serious harm and possibly require readmission to hospital. Telephone follow-up calls after discharge has been studied in small single-center trials and as a part of a coordinated, multi-layered discharge process but its direct effectiveness is not known. Understanding the impact of this simple intervention on patient outcomes is an important step towards improving patients' discharge from hospital.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 334

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 1X5
      • Mount Sinai Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Study population is patients admitted to a general internal medicine ward.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Admission to internal medicine ward
• Discharged to home
• Must have telephone access

Exclusion Criteria:

• Discharged to care facility
• Lack of telephone access

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Post-discharge phone call; All patients in this group will receive a phone call within 72-hours of being discharged from hospital.
Usual care (no phone call)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Care Transition Measure-3 score (CTM-3)	30-days post discharge

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Hospital readmission	30-day post discharge
Emergency department visit	30-days post discharge
Patient satisfaction	30-days post discharge
Treatment plan adherence	30-days post discharge
Outpatient provider follow-up rates	30-days post discharge

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Christine Soong, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Soong C, Kurabi B, Wells D, Caines L, Morgan MW, Ramsden R, Bell CM. Do post discharge phone calls improve care transitions? A cluster-randomized trial. PLoS One. 2014 Nov 11;9(11):e112230. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112230. eCollection 2014.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: July 1, 2012
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2013
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): March 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 17, 2012
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 17, 2012
• First Posted (ESTIMATE): April 19, 2012

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): August 29, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 28, 2017
• Last Verified: August 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: MSHCANADA-CSCB