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Comparative Study
. 2012 Aug;60(8):1521-6.
doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2012.04060.x. Epub 2012 Aug 2.

Effect of a restorative model of posthospital home care on hospital readmissions

Mary E Tinetti  1 , Peter Charpentier, Margaret Gottschalk, Dorothy I Baker
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Effect of a restorative model of posthospital home care on hospital readmissions

Mary E Tinetti et al. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 Aug.

Abstract

Objectives: To compare readmissions of Medicare recipients of usual home care and a matched group of recipients of a restorative model of home care.

Design: Quasiexperimental; matched and unmatched.

Setting: Community, home care.

Participants: Seven hundred seventy individuals receiving care from a large home care agency after hospitalization.

Intervention: A restorative care model based on principles adapted from geriatric medicine, nursing, rehabilitation, goal attainment, chronic care management, and behavioral change theory.

Measurements: Hospital readmission, length of home care episode.

Results: Among the matched pairs, 13.2% of participants who received restorative care were readmitted to an acute hospital during the episode of home care, versus 17.6% of those who received usual care. Individuals receiving the restorative model of home care were 32% less likely to be readmitted than those receiving usual care (conditional odds ratio = 0.68, 95% confidence interval = 0.43-1.08). The mean length of home care episodes was 20.3 ± 14.8 days in the restorative care group and 29.1 ± 31.7 days in the usual care group (P < .001). Results were similar in unmatched analyses.

Conclusion: Although statistical significance was marginal, results suggest that the restorative care model offers an effective approach to reducing the occurrence of avoidable readmissions. It was previously shown that the restorative model of home care was associated with better functional recovery, fewer emergency department visits, and shorter episodes of home care. This model could be incorporated into usual home care practices and care delivery redesign.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper.

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