A follow-up call and chat with a medical professional after discharge from the emergency department may help reduce return visits, according to a May 20 study published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers of the study looked at 8,110 eligible patients who had been to the emergency department, received care and then later discharged to understand what steps would reduce further incidents of readmission. Two days after discharge, a third of those patients received a phone call in English, Spanish or Cantonese, inviting them to speak to a clinician and asking if they had further questions about their condition.
The patients who had received a phone call on day two were more likely than the control group to understand their discharge treatment plan, had successful follow-up plans and success getting medication, however these differences were not significant. However, those who received the follow-up call were significantly less likely to have 72-hour and seven-day return visits to the emergency department.