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Transitional care programs to prevent hospital readmissions: Brief phone follow-up only

Healthcare: Healthcare System Efficiency
  Literature review updated December 2014.
This program was archived December 2024.

Transitional care programs focus on preventing future hospital readmissions after discharge. Programs in this specific category include those providing post-discharge patient follow-up by telephone only, with no pre-discharge assistance.
 
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META-ANALYSIS
CITATIONS

Meta-analysis is a statistical method to combine the results from separate studies on a program, policy, or topic to estimate its effect on an outcome. WSIPP systematically evaluates all credible evaluations we can locate on each topic. The outcomes measured are the program impacts measured in the research literature (for example, impacts on crime or educational attainment). Treatment N represents the total number of individuals or units in the treatment group across the included studies.

An effect size (ES) is a standard metric that summarizes the degree to which a program or policy affects a measured outcome. If the effect size is positive, the outcome increases. If the effect size is negative, the outcome decreases. See Estimating Program Effects Using Effect Sizes for additional information on how we estimate effect sizes.

The effect size may be adjusted from the unadjusted effect size estimated in the meta-analysis. Historically, WSIPP adjusted effect sizes to some programs based on the methodological characteristics of the study. For programs reviewed in 2024 or later, we do not make additional adjustments, and we use the unadjusted effect size whenever we run a benefit-cost analysis.

Research shows the magnitude of effects may change over time. For those effect sizes, we estimate outcome-based adjustments, which we apply between the first time ES is estimated and the second time ES is estimated. More details about these adjustments can be found in our Technical Documentation.

Meta-Analysis of Program Effects
Outcomes measured No. of effect sizes Treatment N Effect sizes (ES) and standard errors (SE) Unadjusted effect size (random effects model)
ES SE Age ES p-value
Hospital readmissions
Readmission to the hospital after discharge; typically within 30 days.
57 5 750 -0.140 0.222 57 -0.143 0.107

Citations Used in the Meta-Analysis

Bostrom, J., Caldwell, J., McGuire, K., & Everson, D. (1996). Telephone follow-up after discharge from the hospital: does it make a difference? Applied Nursing Research: ANR, 9(2), 47-52.

Dudas, V., Bookwalter, T., Kerr, K.M., & Pantilat, S.Z. (2001). The impact of follow-up telephone calls to patients after hospitalization. The American Journal of Medicine, 9(111), 26-30.

Riegel, B., Carlson, B., Glaser, D., Kopp, Z., & Romero, T.E. (2002). Standardized telephonic case management in a Hispanic heart failure population. Disease Management and Health Outcomes, 10(4), 241-249.

Riegel, B., Carlson, B., Glaser, D., & Romero, T. (2006). Randomized Controlled Trial of Telephone Case Management in Hispanics of Mexican Origin With Heart Failure. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 12(3), 211-219.