Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions
Authors: Kazuya Nagasaki, Yutaro Akiyama, Mikio Hayashi, Hideki Mori
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2019)

Letters5 February 2019Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital ReadmissionsKazuya Nagasaki, MD, Yutaro Akiyama, MD, Mikio Hayashi, MD, and Hideki Mori, MDKazuya Nagasaki, MDMito Kyodo General Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan (K.N.)Search for more papers by this author, Yutaro Akiyama, MDYamanashi Prefectural Central Hospital, Yamanashi, Japan (Y.A.)Search for more papers by this author, Mikio Hayashi, MDThe University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (M.H.)Search for more papers by this author, and Hideki Mori, MDNational Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center, Nagasaki, Japan (H.M.)Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L18-0609 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Graham and colleagues' prospective cohort study (1) clearly shows that readmission within 7 days after discharge is more likely to be preventable than that within 30 days. Their results indicate that the rate of early readmissions is the preferred measure to assess discharge processes and quality of care. This article adds important evidence to the field of health economics. However, we had 2 concerns about care coordination and patient characteristics that may have influenced the results.Follow-up visits influence readmissions. Misky and associates (2) reported that many patients lacked outpatient follow-up by a primary care physician, which ...References1. Graham KL, Auerbach AD, Schnipper JL, Flanders SA, Kim CS, Robinson EJ, et al. Preventability of early versus late hospital readmissions in a national cohort of general medicine patients. Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:766-74. [PMID: 29710243]. doi:10.7326/M17-1724 LinkGoogle Scholar2. Misky GJ, Wald HL, Coleman EA. Post-hospitalization transitions: examining the effects of timing of primary care provider follow-up. J Hosp Med. 2010;5:392-7. [PMID: 20578046] doi:10.1002/jhm.666 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Hernandez AF, Greiner MA, Fonarow GC, Hammill BG, Heidenreich PA, Yancy CW, et al. Relationship between early physician follow-up and 30-day readmission among Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for heart failure. JAMA. 2010;303:1716-22. [PMID: 20442387] doi:10.1001/jama.2010.533 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Southern WN, Nahvi S, Arnsten JH. Increased risk of mortality and readmission among patients discharged against medical advice. Am J Med. 2012;125:594-602. [PMID: 22513194] doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2011.12.017 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Mito Kyodo General Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan (K.N.)Yamanashi Prefectural Central Hospital, Yamanashi, Japan (Y.A.)The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (M.H.)National Hospital Organization Nagasaki Medical Center, Nagasaki, Japan (H.M.)Disclosures: Authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest. Forms can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=L18-0609. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPreventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions in a National Cohort of General Medicine Patients Kelly L. Graham , Andrew D. Auerbach , Jeffrey L. Schnipper , Scott A. Flanders , Christopher S. Kim , Edmondo J. Robinson , Gregory W. Ruhnke , Larissa R. Thomas , Sunil Kripalani , Eduard E. Vasilevskis , Grant S. Fletcher , Neil J. Sehgal , Peter K. Lindenauer , Mark V. Williams , Joshua P. Metlay , Roger B. Davis , Julius Yang , Edward R. Marcantonio , and Shoshana J. Herzig Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions Yuji Inagaki , Masaki Maruta , Yasushi Nakano , and Jun Higuchi Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions Kelly L. Graham , Andrew D. Auerbach , and Shoshana J. Herzig Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions Gigi Nickas Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions Tetsuo Takata and Yuki Katoka Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions David B. Edwards Preventability of Early Versus Late Hospital Readmissions Akihiro Mine , Soichiro Ikeda , Tetsuya Makiishi , and Rie Matsushita Metrics 5 February 2019Volume 170, Issue 3Page: 219KeywordsCohort studiesConflicts of interestDisclosureHealth care qualityHealth economicsHeart failureOutpatientsPatientsPrimary care physicians ePublished: 5 February 2019 Issue Published: 5 February 2019 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2019 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...