Clinical trial NCT03813537: Evaluation of Hospital Readmission Rate Dependent on Post-Operative Follow-Up Procedure
Official title: Evaluation of Hospital Readmission Rate Dependent on Post-Operative Follow-Up Procedure: A Randomized Prospective Clinical Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Postoperative Complications
Lead sponsor: Ohio State University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-01-23
Enrollment: 481
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Patients will be randomized to two arms:

1. Intervention: post operative phone call with protocol driven follow up pathway.
2. Control: Current standard post operative follow up practice at our institution.
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This study is a randomized clinical trial among colorectal surgery patients that will compare the efficacy of two different discharge protocols - current standard of care follow-up at two weeks post-op versus a 3-day phone call intervention. The overall aim of the study is to identify areas of improvement for discharging and following patients within 30 days of colorectal surgery.

Detailed description: This study will be a prospective clinical trial, in which colorectal surgery patients will be randomly assigned to a control or experimental group. Patients will be consented and randomized prior to discharge.The control group will be discharged with standard of care follow-up instructions described by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (OSUWMC), and scheduled to come in for a standard follow-up clinic visit within 2-3 weeks. The experimental group will also be scheduled for a 2-3 week post-op follow-up appointment, but will also receive a phone call 3-days post procedure. During this phone call, the patient will be asked questions using a study-specific questionnaire that is based on the most frequent indications for readmission after colorectal surgery. Based on the responses, patients will be advised to maintain the scheduled 2-3 week post-op appointment, visit the clinic within 48 hours, or go to the Emergency Department immediately. To determine if patients had visited an ED or been readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of colorectal surgery, both the standard of care and intervention groups will receive a phone call 30-days post-discharge. At this time we will also conduct the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey to measure patient satisfaction.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age greater than 18 years old
* Patients who underwent colorectal surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients under 18 years old
* Patients with limited ability to communicate
* Patients who do not have a telephone

Primary outcomes:
measure: Post-Operative Phone Call (assess readmission rates)
timeFrame: 3 days
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Post Discharge Survey (assess patient satisfaction)
timeFrame: 30 days
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Columbus
country: United States
facility: The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
state: Ohio
Study officials:
affiliation: OSU Wexner Medical Center
name: Syed Husain, MBBS
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: