Patient Perspectives on Care Transitions From Hospital to Home

IMPORTANCE Understanding the patient's perspective of their care transition process from hospital or skilled nursing facility (SNF) to home may highlight gaps in care and inform system improvements. OBJECTIVE To gather data about patients' care transition experiences and factors associated with follow-up appointment completion. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A survey tool was developed with input from patient advisors and organizations participating in a collaborative quality initiative. Seventeen hospitals. 12 practitioner organizations, and 6 SNFs in Michigan collaborated to identify shared patients who were aged 18 years and older, had a working telephone number, recently returned home or to an assisted living facility with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or after an SNF stay. Using consecutive sampling, interviewers collected 5 telephone surveys per month. From October 2018 to December 2019, patients or caregivers were surveyed via telephone 8 to 12 days after discharge from a hospital or SNF. Data were analyzed from March 2020 to January 2022. EXPOSURE Care transition experiences. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was to identify patient-perceived gaps during care transition experiences, including postdischarge follow-up. RESULTS On the basis of pilot data, the response rate was estimated at 34%, yielding 1257 surveys. Of 1257 survey respondents (mean [SD] age, 70 [12.941 years for 968 patients for whom age data was available). 654 (52%) were female; 829 (74%) were White. 250 (22%) were Black or African American, and 40 (4%) were another race. Eleven percent of patients reported not receiving a telephone number to call for postdischarge questions. Nearly 80% of patients (977 patients) received a follow-up telephone call, and most found it valuable. Twenty percent of patients (255 patients) reported at least 1 social determinant of health issue. Lack of transportation was associated with reduced likelihood of completing a follow-up visit, decreasing the odds of completing a follow-up by nearly 70% (odds ratio [OR], 0.31; 95% CI, 0.18-0.53; P < .001). Compared with other patient groups, Black patients were less likely to report completing a postdischarge follow-up visit (OR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.36-0.67; P < .001) or to receive prescribed medical equipment (OR, 4.23; 95% CI, 1.30-13.83; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE An examination of patient discharge experiences from a hospital or SNF identified inconsistencies in care transition processes, social determinants of health issues needing to be addressed after discharge, and racial disparities between patients who attend follow-up appointments. Physicians should be aware of these findings and their consequences for patient experiences.

Automated summary

This study aimed to understand patients' experiences during the care transition process from hospital or skilled nursing facility to home and identify factors associated with follow-up appointment completion. The study found gaps and racial disparities in care transition experiences, which had implications for patient experiences and outcomes.