Hospitalization
Conditions
Keywords
Patient Readmission, Continuity of Patient Care
Brief summary
The purpose of this protocol is to evaluate the Care Transitons Innovation, a quality improvement project being implemented at OHSU to improve the transition from hospital to home for uninsured and Medicaid patients admitted to general medicine and cardiology wards at OHSU. The evaluation includes a baseline in-person survey and a 30 day post-discharge phone follow-up survey. Prior to C-TraIn, the local healthcare delivery model lacked an effective way to assure timely, safe, and effective follow-up care for uninsured and underinsured hospitalized patients. Most uninsured patients have no source for primary care, and many have limited social support, complex medical problems, and are prescribed many medications. Patients are frequently discharged without any coordinated plan for follow up. Based on a needs assessment performed in 2009 (OHSU eIRB 5514) investigators developed a quality improvement program that will include three major components: 1) a care transitions RN advocate who will see patients in the hospital and after discharge, 2) a pharmacy consultation and 30 days of medications post-discharge, 3) linkages with primary care medical homes, including payment for primary care for uninsured patients who lack a usual source of care, and 4) monthly meetings that serve as a platform for continuous quality improvement. In order to measure the success of our program, investigators will track patient utilization, sociodemographic factors, and patient factors including satisfaction, activation, and self-reported health status. To be included patients must be uninsured, have Oregon Medicaid, or be low income (200% or less of federal poverty level) Medicare recipients, and live within Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties in Oregon.
Interventions
OTHERCare Transitions Innovation (C-TraIn)
Multi-component transitional care intervention including transitional nursing care, pharmacy care, and medical home linkages
Sponsors
Oregon Health and Science University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* hospitalized on one of seven inpatient treatment teams * uninsured or low-income publicly insured (Medicaid; Medicare/Medicaid; or Medicare without supplemental insurance and ≤200% poverty level) * reside in one of three metro-area counties (Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas)
Exclusion criteria
* not community dwelling (ie not from a long-term care facility or with plans to discharge to skilled nursing facility) * no access to a working telephone (participants could list a friend or shelter phone) * non-English speakding * HIV positive (HIV+ patients were eligible for overlapping transitional care resources) * disabling mental illness (as characterized by active psychosis or active suicidal ideation) or severe cognitive deficits * plans to enter hospice.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 30-day hospital readmissions | 30-days |
| Emergency Department use | 30-days post-discharge |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Care Transitions Measure (CTM-3) | Patient report at 30-days post hospital discharge | The 3 item care transitions measure (CTM-3) is a validated measure that assesses the quality of the care transition. It asks patients to rate agreement with the following: 1. The hospital staff took my preferences and those of my family or caregiver into account in deciding what my health care needs would be when I left the hospital. 2. When I left the hospital, I had a good understanding of the things I was responsible for in managing my health. 3. When I left the hospital, I clearly understood the purpose for taking each of my medications. It is being considered by NQF for public reporting. More Background can be found at: http://www.caretransitions.org/documents/CTM\_FAQs.pdf |
| all cause mortality | 30-days post-discharge | — |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Patient Activation Measure | 30-days post-discharge | Patient Activation Measure (PAM) is a 13-item validated measure of patient activation developed by Judith Hibbard and colleagues. Hibbard JH, Stockard J, Mahoney ER, Tusler M. Development of the patient activation measure (PAM): conceptualizing and measuring activation in patients and consumers. Health Serv Res. 2004;39 (4 pt 1):1005-1026. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed