Evaluating the effects of a multidisciplinary transition care management program on hospital readmissions

To measure the effect of a pharmacist-initiated transitions of care (TOC) program on rates of 30-day all-cause readmissions and primary care follow-up.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate a pharmacist-initiated TOC program for patients discharged from hospitals of a large health system from September 2015 through July 2016. Discharged patients of 13 primary care physicians (the intervention cohort) received TOC program services, and discharged patients seen by 12 other primary care physicians (the control cohort) received usual care. Patients in both cohorts were followed for 90 days. The primary outcome was 30-day all-cause readmissions, and secondary outcomes were 14-day primary care visits, TOC pharmacist identification and resolution of medication therapy problems (MTPs), and transition care management (TCM) billing. Multivariable modeling was performed to test the associations of patient receipt of TOC services with 30-day readmissions and 14-day primary care visits, with controlling for patient demographics and baseline healthcare utilization.

A total of 492 patients received the TOC intervention, and 379 were followed in the usual care cohort. Among intervention patients, 960 MTPs were identified, and 85.7% of identified MTPs were resolved. Moreover, 9% of intervention cohort patients were readmitted within 30 days, compared to 15% of control cohort patients, and this effect was significant in the multivariable model (odds ratio, 1.82; 95% confidence interval, 1.15-2.89; P = 0.0108). Rates of primary care visits did not differ significantly between the groups; 65% of intervention group visits were billed using TCM codes.

A pharmacist-initiated TOC program was effective in reducing 30-day all-cause readmissions.