TELEPHONE FOLLOW-UP AFTER-DISCHARGE FROM THE HOSPITAL - DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Two systems of telephone follow-up of discharged patients were compare d in this 3-month study. All medical and surgical patients on five nur sing units of one acute care institution were included, yielding a sam ple of over 1,400 patients. One group of patients was called 2 to 3 da ys after discharge; another group received a brochure describing a nur se-run telephone service they could call. A third group of patients re ceived no intervention. More than 90% of patients who were called had questions about self-care and recovery at home. Only nine patients ini tiated calls to the nurse telephone service. The three groups did not differ in patient satisfaction with health education or readmission ra tes within 30 days of discharge. This study suggests that patients hav e continued health education needs after discharge but are unlikely to actively seek needed information from a hospital-based telephone serv ice. Copyright (C) 1996 by W.B. Saunders Company