Impact of a Repatriation Program Between Quaternary and Community Hospitals

Area of Science:

• Healthcare management
• Hospital operations
• Patient flow optimization

Background:

• Quaternary hospital capacity challenges lead to patient transfer delays.
• These delays can compromise patient care quality and safety.
• Repatriation offers a solution by returning patients to community hospitals post-quaternary care.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate the success rate of a repatriation program.
• Assess the impact of repatriation on quaternary hospital capacity.
• Determine the safety of repatriation through readmission rates.

Main Methods:

• Implemented a repatriation program over one year (2020-2021).
• Tracked successful repatriations, patient characteristics, and diagnoses.
• Measured bed days saved and potential backfilled admissions.
• Monitored readmission rates to the quaternary hospital.

Main Results:

• 103 out of 215 (47.5%) repatriations were successful.
• Common diagnoses included sepsis, stroke, and intracranial bleed.
• 2,842 bed days were saved, creating capacity for 431 admissions.
• The readmission rate was 1.9%.

Conclusions:

• Repatriation effectively increases quaternary hospital capacity.
• This approach improves access for patients requiring timely transfers.
• The low readmission rate indicates repatriation is a safe patient management strategy.