Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Discharge Planning Implementation: A Case-Control Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Care Coordination
• Clinical Informatics

Background:

• Discharge planning teams aim to improve patient care continuity.
• Large-scale data on discharge planning effectiveness is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate clinical factors influencing discharge planning efficacy.
• Analyze impact on hospital length of stay, readmission rates, and survival.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study using patient records from 2017-2018.
• Data collected from medical information systems and Ministry of Health and Welfare databases.
• Analysis of medical care and follow-up status.

Main Results:

• Activities of daily living (ADL) ≤ 60, indwelling catheters, poor chronic disease control, and insufficient caregiver capacity correlate with longer hospital stays.
• Male gender and indwelling catheters increase 30-day readmission risk.
• Higher mortality observed in elderly males, those with low ADL, catheters, wounds, financial issues, or inadequate caregivers.

Conclusions:

• Case management-based discharge planning showed no significant reduction in hospital stay or improvement in readmission/prognosis.
• Efficacy is reduced by age, comorbidities, and specific disease factors.
• Active discharge planning interventions are vital for high-risk patient transitional care.