Stopping the Revolving Door: Reducing 30-Day Psychiatric Readmissions With Post-discharge Telephone Calls

This prospective study sought to determine the effect of a post-discharge telephone call on 30-day readmission rates at a short-term inpatient psychiatric facility. The patient population consisted of English-speaking adults in the age group of 18-65 years with a high school education or higher and met involuntary commitment criteria. Participants received a telephone call 72 hours after discharge using a standard script. Three hundred and forty-two patients completed the study. A Pearson Chi-Square test was used to analyze the data. We used an alpha level of 0.05 for all statistical tests. Total readmissions were reduced by 3.4% (p = 0.004) during the time of the intervention when compared to patients receiving standard care the year prior. During the intervention period, the average readmission rate was 9.9% (95%CI 5.9-12.1%). We conclude that systematic telephone follow-up has the potential to reduce 30-day readmission rates for inpatient psychiatric facilities.