Patients hospitalized with heart attacks, heart failure, atrial fibrillation or stroke in Northern Ontario, Canada, were more likely to be readmitted to the hospital and repeatedly hospitalized after discharge than those living in Southern Ontario. Yet, no geographical differences were found in 30-day survival rates. A new study published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology recommends providing access to timely transitional care by clinicians who have the knowledge and expertise to treat patients recently discharged from hospital as one of several strategies necessary to reduce hospital readmission rates.
“Hospital readmissions are costly to the healthcare system, but they are also potentially avoidable. Reducing readmission may lead to lower costs of care, which we found tended to be higher in Northern Ontario at one-year follow-up. Our study highlights some of the differences in outcomes and the need for new strategies to try to reduce readmission rates for cardiac disease patients in the North,” said Douglas Lee, MD, PhD, the Cardiovascular Program Lead and Senior Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences and the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research. Dr. Lee is also associated with the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre of the University Health Network and is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The study compared death and readmission risks of patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure (HF), stroke or atrial fibrillation (AF) in Northern compared to Southern Ontario. Northern Ontario regions tend to be more rural, have fewer doctors, and less access to specialist care and important diagnostic tests. However, even when urban or rural region of residence was considered, patients with these four conditions were more likely to be re-hospitalized in the North, despite accounting for several factors including bed availability and length of hospital stay.
Read more at Elsevier
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