Clinical trial NCT03050918: Discharge Follow-up Phone Call Program
Official title: A Pragmatic, Randomized, Controlled Trial Examining the Effectiveness of a Hospital Discharge Follow-up Phone Call Program
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Discharge Follow-up Phone Calls
Lead sponsor: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2017-02-13
Enrollment: 3054
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: This is a single center, pragmatic, randomized, controlled clinical trial.
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: The goal of this project is to quantify the impact of post-hospital discharge follow-up phone calls on hospital readmission, ED visits, patient satisfaction, and mortality in a general medicine inpatient population. We will obtain exploratory information on patient sub-groups at high risk for hospital readmission and on those experiencing high benefit from the follow-up phone call intervention. In addition, we will obtain data on discharge plan implementation assistance needed to support a successful transition from inpatient to outpatient care among those reached by the intervention phone call.

Detailed description: RATIONALE

In the current medical literature, it is unclear how follow-up calls influence these outcomes in a general medical population. Some studies have attempted to address this question, but are limited in that they target very specific patient populations, are of insufficient quality, or evaluated follow-up calls as part of a larger care bundle. We will conduct a high quality, real-time clinical care study to determine the efficacy of a follow-up phone call program.

STUDY DESIGN

This is a single center, pragmatic, randomized, controlled clinical trial to investigate whether a structured post-hospital discharge follow-up phone call can improve patients' transition from in-hospital to outpatient care and improve satisfaction with their care. We will also identify the discharge implementation assistance given to those in the intervention (Phone Call) group.

Outcome Measures Primary outcome for this study is readmission event rate within 30 days. Secondary outcomes include patient satisfaction which will be measured as mean Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient satisfaction scores, all cause VUMC emergency department (ED) visits, the need for assistance with discharge plan implementation, and 30 day mortality.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* VUMC patients discharged after an inpatient status hospital stay on a general medicine service.

Exclusion Criteria:

* patients who experience in-hospital death
* patient discharged to any post-acute care facility or inpatient hospice
* left the hospital against medical advice

Primary outcomes:
measure: Number of Participants With In-patient Re-admissions
timeFrame: 30 days
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Patient Satisfaction: Experience
timeFrame: Within 60 days of Discharge
measure: Patient Satisfaction: Likelihood to Recommend the Facility (Top Box Rating)
timeFrame: Within 60 days of Discharge
measure: Patient Satisfaction: Hospital Experience (Top Box Rating)
timeFrame: Within 60 days of Discharge
measure: Patient Satisfaction: Likelihood to Recommend the Facility
timeFrame: Within 60 days of Discharge
measure: VUMC Emergency Department (ED) Visits
timeFrame: 30 days
measure: Number of Patient Received Discharge Plan Implementation Assistance
timeFrame: 30 days
measure: Mortality
timeFrame: 30 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Nashville
country: United States
facility: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
state: Tennessee
Study officials:
affiliation: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
name: Maame Yaa Yiadom, MD, MPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Yiadom MYAB, Domenico HJ, Byrne DW, Hasselblad M, Kripalani S, Choma N, Tucker-Marlow S, Gatto CL, Wang L, Bhatia MC, Morrison J, Harrell FE, Hartert TV, Lindsell CJ, Bernard GR. Impact of a Follow-up Telephone Call Program on 30-Day Readmissions (FUTR-30): A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Real-world Effectiveness Trial. Med Care. 2020 Sep;58(9):785-792. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000001353.
citation: Yiadom MYAB, Domenico H, Byrne D, Hasselblad MM, Gatto CL, Kripalani S, Choma N, Tucker S, Wang L, Bhatia MC, Morrison J, Harrell FE, Hartert T, Bernard G. Randomised controlled pragmatic clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of a discharge follow-up phone call on 30-day hospital readmissions: balancing pragmatic and explanatory design considerations. BMJ Open. 2018 Feb 14;8(2):e019600. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019600.