MedPath

Continuity of Care and Outcomes After Discharge From Hospital

Completed
Conditions
Patient Safety
Registration Number
NCT00212927
Lead Sponsor
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Brief Summary

1. INTRODUCTION: Continuity of care (COC) occurs when separate elements of patient care are connected. COC is made up primarily of Continuity of Provider (COP) and Continuity of Information (COI). Many authorities believe that COC is essential to high-quality care. Previous studies have shown poor COC in varied populations. Many studies have shown that increased COC has been associated with improved intermediate outcomes. However, no study has definitively determined whether COC or either of its components is associated with important outcomes. The Ontario-Outcomes After the Hospitalization (Ontario-OAtH) study will enroll 5900 adults who are discharged to the community from medical and surgical services from 13 teaching and community hospitals in 5 regions across Ontario. Patients will be followed for 6 months to record details about all interactions with the health care system. This information will give us a detailed measure of both provider and information continuity for all patients over time. The Ontario-OAtH study will have the power to precisely determine whether COC is associated with time to urgent readmission or death after hospital discharge. Since COC is potentially modifiable, the Ontario-OAtH study will give us essential information required for designing interventions to improve outcomes for patients after they are discharged from hospital.

Detailed Description

See above

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
5900
Inclusion Criteria
  • discharged to the community from medical and surgical services
Exclusion Criteria

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Ottawa Health Research Institute

🇨🇦

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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