 |
|
Prolonged Effects of a Home-Based Intervention in Patients With Chronic Illness
Sue Pearson, PhD;
Sally C. Inglis, BHSc (Hons Pharm);
Skye N. McLennan, BA, M Psych;
Lucy Brennan, BAppSc (OT) (Hons);
Mary Russell, BAppSc (OT) (Hons);
David Wilkinson, MBChB, DSc;
David R. Thompson, PhD, FESC;
Simon Stewart, PhD, FESC, FAHA
Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:645-650.
Background Data on the long-term benefits of nonspecific disease management programs are limited. We performed a long-term follow-up of a previously published randomized trial.
Methods We compared all-cause mortality and recurrent hospitalization during median follow-up of 7.5 years in a heterogeneous cohort of patients with chronic illness initially exposed to a multidisciplinary, home-based intervention (HBI) (n = 260) or to usual postdischarge care (n = 268).
Results During follow-up, HBI had no impact on all-cause mortality (relative risk, 1.04; 95% confidence interval, 0.80-1.35) or event-free survival from death or unplanned hospitalization (relative risk, 1.03; 95% confidence interval, 0.86-1.24). Initial analysis suggested that HBI had only a marginal impact in reducing unplanned hospitalization, with 677 readmissions vs 824 for the usual care group (mean ± SD rate, 0.72 ± 0.96 vs 0.84 ± 1.20 readmissions/patient per year; P = .08). When accounting for increased hospital activity in HBI patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during follow-up for 2 years, post hoc analyses showed that HBI reduced readmissions by 14% within 2 years in patients without this condition (mean ± SD rate, 0.54 ± 0.72 vs 0.63 ± 0.88 readmission/patient per year; P = .04) and by 21% in all surviving patients within 3 to 8 years (mean ± SD rate, 0.64 ± 1.26 vs 0.81 ± 1.61 readmissions/patient per year; P = .03). Overall, recurrent hospital costs were significantly lower (14%) in the HBI group (mean ± SD, $823 ± $1642 vs $960 ± $1376 per patient per year; P = .045).
Conclusion This unique study suggests that a nonspecific HBI provides long-term cost benefits in a range of chronic illnesses, except for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Authors Affiliations: Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide (Drs Pearson and Stewart and Mss Inglis, McLennan, Brennan, and Russell); Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia (Drs Wilkinson and Stewart); and Nethersole School of Nursing, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong (Dr Thompson).
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
Long-Term Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study Using Repetitive Education at Six-Month Intervals and Monitoring for Adherence in Heart Failure Outpatients: The REMADHE Trial
Bocchi et al.
Circ Heart Fail 2008;1:115-124.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Patterns and Predictors of Early Hospital Readmission in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure
Hallerbach et al.
American Journal of Medical Quality 2008;23:18-23.
ABSTRACT
Extending the Horizon in Chronic Heart Failure: Effects of Multidisciplinary, Home-Based Intervention Relative to Usual Care
Inglis et al.
Circulation 2006;114:2466-2473.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Integrated care: a new model for COPD management?
Seemungal and Wedzicha
Eur Respir J 2006;28:4-6.
FULL TEXT
|
