Impact of daily personal communication on hospital readmissions: A case-control study

Recurrent hospitalizations present significant financial burdens and health risks. Poor communication and lack of personalized care are major contributors to preventable readmissions. This study examined whether brief, personal conversations between physicians and hospitalized-patients could reduce 1-week and 30-days post-discharge readmissions, and improve satisfaction.

This prospective, case-control study involved 459 patients hospitalized in Internal Medicine Wards at a general hospital in Israel. Patients 18-100 years were included, excluding those with dementia, limited communication abilities, or discharge within 24-hours. The intervention group engaged in brief, personal conversations with physicians. Comparison group patients were hospitalized concurrently in other wards and received standard care. Eleven physicians received 1.5-hours of training, and conducted 3-5 min personal conversations with patients daily, supplementing standard care. Readmissions within 7- and 30-days post-discharge and patient satisfaction were measured.

The intervention (n = 249) and comparison groups (n = 210) had similar baseline characteristics except that the intervention group was older (66.7 versus. 62.7 years, P = .008). Multivariable logistic regression showed significantly reduced odds of readmission in the intervention group at both 1 week (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.16-0.66, P = .002) and 30 days (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.34-0.88, P = .012), after adjusting for covariates including age, diagnosis severity, satisfaction, and sociodemographic factors.

Readmission rates were decreased after brief, personal physician-patient conversations. These findings support integrating personalized communication strategies into standard care to improve outcomes. Future research should confirm these finding in larger samples and explore optimal frequency and duration of such interactions.