Phone calls between patients, RNs reduce readmission rates: study

Patients who receive a phone call from a nurse following discharge are less likely to end up back in hospital within 28 days than those who don’t.

This was one of the key findings of research, conducted by not-for-profit health fund HCF in partnership with Healthways, into post-discharge phone calls between registered nurses and members of HCF’s disease management program My Health Guardian.

Published in Australian Health Review, the study looked at 28-day readmissions of patients with chronic disease who received a call and compared rates with non-participating patients.

It found the intervention reduced 28-day readmission incidence by 29 per cent.

Cindy Shay, HCF chief benefits officer, said patients across Australia could benefit from simple interventions like a phone call following discharge.

Shay said: “The results of this study show that there is an incremental benefit of post-discharge intervention, through methods as simple as a telephone call, to be implemented more broadly in Australia which will help lessen the burden and cost associated with preventable readmissions".

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