[A comparison of the pattern of readmissions of long-term/geriatric patients and internal medicine patients]

A comparison was undertaken between the frequencies of admission of medical patients over the age of 64 years and long-term/geriatric patients admitted to a large county hospital. The pattern of readmission is described in relation to the age groups and sex. The period of observation was nine months. In the investigation, the relationship between the distribution of men and women in the normal population was taken into consideration and a correction factor was calculated. A total of loll patients (CP) discharged from an acute medical department (AM) had 1954 readmissions (GI). In the long-term medical department (LMA) 158 CP had a total of 328-GI. The number of CP readmitted in each age group and sex reflects the representation of the group concerned in the background population, although a tendency was observed for slightly more admissions, the older the CP were. No difference in the pattern of readmission was observed concerning CP readmitted from AM and readmitted to all departments including AM. Similarly, despite some scatter, there was no difference in the GI pattern in CP discharged from LMA and readmitted to all departments including LMA. In addition, no significant difference in the GI pattern was observed as compared with the AM patient group and the LMA patient group. As patients referred to LMA have, quite naturally, poorer performance than the patients who were discharged directly from medical or surgical departments, it may be concluded that, after treatment in LMA, no difference between the patient groups was found if the GI frequency was taken as a yardstick. As GI, just as other measurements of turnover, only provides an expression of the status at a given moment, the author considers that it is of importance both for the departmental and the political planning that the GI frequency is followed as part of the current assessment.