Post-Hospital Discharge Telephone Program Beneficial Among OAs

Findings showed post-hospital discharge automated telephone calls were effective and feasible for reaching older adults (OAs).

To screen and triage patients’ post-hospital discharge issues and concerns, health systems have developed automated telephone call programs, but researchers were uncertain if and how OAs would engage with this program.

Telephone calls made by an urban academic medical center as part of the post-hospital discharge program between May 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019, were identified for this study. The automated telephone outreach program was aimed at patients or their caregivers 3 days post-discharge and included 11 distinct steps.

Researchers compared completeness of 11-step calls, call reach rate, and patient-reported issues between age groups.

Of the 18,076 patients included in the study, more patients aged 65 to 84 years were reached compared to patients aged 64 years or younger (84.3% vs 78.9%, AME 5.52%; 95%CI: 3.58%-7.45%). Patients aged 85 years or older also had high completion rates of automated calls.

When compared to patients aged 64 years or younger, patients aged 85 years or older were more likely to have questions about their follow-up plans and need assistance scheduling appointments (19.0% vs 11.9%, AME 7.0% (95%CI: 2.7%-11.3%).

“Future work should focus on improving discharge communication to ensure older adults are aware of their follow-up plan and appointments,” concluded researchers.

Reference:
Harrison JD, Sudore RL, Auerbach AD, et al. Automated telephone follow-up programs after hospital discharge: do older adults engage with these programs? J Am Geriatr Soc. Published online June 29, 2022. doi:10.1111/jgs.17939