ArticleHealth services research2018
Optimal Timing of Physician Visits after Hospital Discharge to Reduce Readmission.
Article in Health services research, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Surviving Sepsis Campaign International Guidelines for the Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock in Children 2026.Intensive care medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Outpatient Follow-Up and 30-Day Readmissions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2025Pooled it
- Timing of follow-up visits after hospital discharge for COPD: Application of a new method.PloS one · 2024Trial
- The impact of timely community health services contact following hospital discharge on subsequent hospital use in England: retrospective observational study.BMC medicine · 2026Observational
- Evaluating a Telemedical Follow-Up Program for Continuity of Care After Hospital Discharge: Prospective Clinical Intervention Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Article
- Optimizing Cooperative Community Hospital Selection for Post-Discharge Care with NSGA-II Algorithm.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Striking the right balance between accountability and quality improvement: a discharge summary timeliness tale.BMJ open quality · 2025Article
- Postdischarge needs identified by an automated text messaging program: A mixed-methods study.Journal of hospital medicine · 2024Article
- Quality-of-Care Outcomes in Vertical Relationships Between Physicians and Health Systems.JAMA health forum · 2024Article
- Association of Timely Outpatient Follow-Up and Readmission Risk in a Mobile Integrated Health Program.Population health management · 2024Observational
- Navigating outpatient care of patients with type 2 diabetes after hospital discharge - a qualitative longitudinal study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Early unplanned readmissions following same-admission cholecystectomy for acute biliary pancreatitis.Surgical endoscopy · 2022Article
- First Nations' hospital readmission ending in death: a potential sentinel indicator of inequity?International journal of circumpolar health · 2021Article
- Near Vision but not Hearing Loss is Associated with Lacking a Usual Source of Health Care.Journal of aging and health · 2021Article
- Avoidable Hospitalizations in Persons with Dementia: a Population-Wide Descriptive Study (2000-2015).Canadian geriatrics journal : CGJ · 2021Article
- Predicting for Lost to Follow-up in Surgical Management of Patients with Chronic Subdural Hematoma.World neurosurgery · 2021Article
- Receipt of Timely Primary Care Services Following Post-Acute Skilled Nursing Facility Care.Journal of the American Medical Directors Association · 2021Article
- Factors Related to 30-day Readmission following Hospitalization for Any Medical Reason among Patients with Mental Disorders: Facteurs liés à la réhospitalisation à 30 jours suivant une hospitalisation pour une raison médicale chez des patients souffrant de troubles mentaux.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2021Article
- Outcomes of a Citywide Campaign to Reduce Medicaid Hospital Readmissions With Connection to Primary Care Within 7 Days of Hospital Discharge.JAMA network open · 2019Article
- Reframing "No-Show": Patient-Reported Barriers for Missed Post-Hospital Discharge Primary Care Follow-Up Visits.American journal of medical quality : the official journal of the American College of Medical QualityArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo identify the optimal timing of in-person physician visit after hospital discharge to yield the largest reduction in readmission among elderly or chronically ill patients. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING/EXTRACTION
methodsWe extracted insurance billing data on 620,656 admissions for any cause from 2002 to 2009 in Quebec, Canada. STUDY
designWe used flexible survival models to estimate inverse probability weights for the precise timing (days) of in-person physician visit after discharge and weighted competing risk outcome models. PRINCIPAL
findingsReadmission reduction associated with in-person physician visits (compared to none) was seen early after discharge, with 67.8 fewer readmissions per 1,000 discharges if physician visit occurred within 7 days (95 percent CI: 66.7-69.0), and 110.0 fewer readmissions within 21 days (95 percent CI: 108.2-111.7). The period of largest contribution to readmission reduction was seen in the first 10 days, while physician visits occurring later than 21 days after discharge did not further contribute to reducing hospital readmissions. Larger risk reductions were observed among patients in the highest morbidity level and for in-person follow-up with a primary care physician rather than a medical specialist.
conclusionsWhen provided promptly, postdischarge in-person physician visit can prevent many readmissions. The benefits appear optimal when such visit occurs within the first 10 days, or at least within the first 21 days of discharge.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.