MedPath

30 Day Rehospitalization Risk in Hemodialysis Patients

Not Applicable
Terminated
Conditions
Re-hospitalization Hemodialysis
Interventions
Other: Checklist driven clinical encounter after hospital discharge
Registration Number
NCT02553564
Lead Sponsor
Northwell Health
Brief Summary

After a hospitalization, dialysis patients have a high risk of being admitted to the hospital again within 30 days. The purpose of this research study is to test a new way of reducing the chance of patients being hospitalized again. In this study investigator will evaluate a checklist driven evaluation upon return to the dialysis facility as a method to reduce the rate of rehospitalizations in hemodialysis patients.

Detailed Description

There are an excessive number of 30 day readmissions after hospital discharges of dialysis patients in the U.S. (35.2%). Investigators recent research has found that approximately 2/3 of these readmissions are potentially avoidable. Investigators believe that among the causes for the excessive number of readmissions, the most important may be that patients usually do not receive a clinical assessment upon return to dialysis after a hospitalization. An all too common practice in the U.S. is for the nephrologist to not see the patient but to give verbal orders to the dialysis nurse to resume previous orders. This increases readmission risk in that there are a number of key clinical processes that if completed on return to dialysis might greatly reduce rehospitalization risk. Nephrologists are often not available to see patients in the peri-discharge period, but there is a trend towards an increasing number of U.S. dialysis facilities now having nurse practitioners (NP) working in the units. Investigators believe that NPs using a checklist can conduct a post-discharge clinical encounter that would allow for key care processes to be carried out and to direct telephone communication with the treating nephrologist. Our objective is to reduce the risk of dialysis patient readmissions within 30 days through the use of this intervention. Our research question is whether this intervention would be effective for reducing 30 day readmission risk. Our hypothesis is that the intervention will prove to be more effective then usual care for reducing 30 day readmission risk.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
TERMINATED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
3
Inclusion Criteria
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Must have been an existing patients of the outpatient dialysis units for at least 1 month prior to the index hospitalization
  • Index hospitalization must be from an acute care hospital
Exclusion Criteria
  • Hospital discharges against medical advice
  • Assessment cannot be initiated within 96 hours of hospital discharge
  • Primary hospital diagnosis related to cancer, renal transplant, mental health or rehabilitation
  • Hospital admission was the 5th or more in the previous 12 months
  • Failure to provide informed consent

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Intervention groupChecklist driven clinical encounter after hospital dischargeChecklist driven clinical encounter after hospital discharge - Participant will receive standard medical care with the addition of a checklist driven clinical encounter upon return to the dialysis unit after hospital discharge. \* participants in both group will be receiving standard post discharge care which includes nursing assessment, social work intervention as needed and new dialysis orders.
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Rehospitalization rateUp to 5 weeks

Percentage of patients in each group requiring readmission to an acute care hospital within 30 days of discharge after an acute care hospitalization.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Days to readmissionUp to 5 weeks

Number of days to readmission

Cause of readmissionsUp to 5 weeks

Percentage of rehospitalizations per group for volume overload, infection or vascular access complications

Average time in minutes required to perform the interventionUp to 5 weeks

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

LIJ satellite dialysis unit

🇺🇸

Queens Village, New York, United States

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