Head and neck cancer readmission reduction (HANCARRE) project: Reducing 30-day readmissions.

Objective: Unplanned 30-day readmissions result in increased costs and decreased patient satisfaction. The objective of this study was to compare readmission rates before and after a multidisciplinary quality improvement initiative that focuses on patient and staff education, use of targeted skilled nursing facilities, and appropriate use of patient observation status. Methods: This was a quality improvement study of all unplanned admissions to the Head and Neck Oncology service at a tertiary care facility during a 3-year period between October 2015 and September 2018. In October 2016, when the Head and Neck Oncology service revised its discharge practices for patients undergoing extirpative and/or reconstructive surgery. These changes included enhancing patient education, increasing the use of a skilled nursing facility with directed staff education and patient handoffs by advanced practice nurses, and appropriate utilization of 23-h observation status for returning patients. The readmission rate from the pre-intervention era (October 2015 through September 2016) was compared to the readmission rate from the post-intervention era (October 2016 through September 2018). Secondary outcomes were the rates of 23-h observation within 30 days of the discharge as well as emergency room visits within 30 days of discharge. Results: In this sample of 449 patients, 161 (35.9%) were observed before the change-in-practice (before October 2016), and 288 (64.1%) were observed following the change-in-practice (after September 2016). On univariable analysis, the risk of readmission declined by approximately 41.4% from the pre-intervention era, though this conclusion was not statistically significant ( Conclusions: A three-part quality improvement strategy resulted in a clinically important decrease in 30-day readmissions, though the decline was not statistically significant. There were no significant changes in 23-h observation within 30 days of discharge or emergency room visits within 30 days of discharge.