Relocation of patients after cardiac surgery: is it worth the effort?

Abstract

Transfer of patients does not overtly reduce health care costs, but overall LOS and time to first outpatient consultation are substantially longer in patients transferred to secondary hospitals than in patients discharged directly. Readmission rate is high during the month after surgery, but with no difference between groups.

A Pragmatic Preoperative Prediction Score for Nonhome Discharge After Cardiac Operations

“…The ability to identify high-risk patients preoperatively may allow for improved preoperative planning of discharge, including home and NHD, proactive bed procurement at rehabilitation facilities when necessary, reduced length of stay, decreased cost, and improved patient and family satisfaction [3][4][5][6]. Further, we hypothesized that NHD would reduce hospital readmission by providing continued skilled care in the nonhospital environment [12][13][14][15]. The follow-up goal of this study is to develop a multidisciplinary clinical pathway along the continuum of care to achieve timely and appropriate discharge of patients after cardiac operations, transition to outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, and avoidance of hospital readmission based upon a preoperative NHD score.…”