Associations Between Successful Home Discharge and Posthospitalization Care Planning: Cross-Sectional Ecological Study

2024

Home Discharge and Posthospitalization Care Planning in Japan

Sample size: 47 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Amaryllis Mavragani, Ma Xiaomeng, Takashi Naoki, Fujisawa Misaki, Ohtera Shosuke

Primary Institution: National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology

Hypothesis

This study aimed to assess the association between the number of claims submitted for discharge planning and key health care outcomes in Japan.

Conclusion

The provision of posthospitalization care planning is associated with an increased likelihood of discharge to home, highlighting significant regional disparities in care coordination.

Supporting Evidence

Higher supply-adjusted SCRs were associated with an increase of 9.68 discharges to home per 1000 patients for each SD increase in supply-adjusted SCR.
Significant regional variation in the provision of posthospitalization care planning was observed across 47 prefectures in Japan.
A higher number of nurses per 100 hospital beds was linked to better posthospitalization care planning.
Regions with more care manager offices had higher supply-adjusted SCRs.
Proportion of hospitals providing electronic medical information was positively associated with care planning.
Lower proportions of older adults living alone correlated with higher SCRs.
Higher average per capita income was associated with more frequent provision of posthospitalization care planning.

Takeaway

When hospitals help plan for patients to go home after being discharged, more people can actually go home, but some areas do a better job than others.

Methodology

This ecological study used prefectural-level data from fiscal year 2020 and analyzed associations using multivariate negative binomial regression models.