BACKGROUND Severe pressures on beds in psychiatric services have led to the implementation of an early ("crisis") discharge policy in the Western Cape, South Africa. The study examined the effect of this policy and length of hospital stay (LOS) on readmission rates in one psychiatric hospital in South Africa. METHODS Discharge summaries of adult male patients (n = 438) admitted to Stikland Ps...

BACKGROUND Previous data demonstrate early follow-up (ie, within 7 days of discharge) after a hospitalization for heart failure is associated with a lower risk of readmission, yet is uncommon and varies widely across hospitals. Limited data exist on whether the use of early follow-up after discharge has improved over time. METHODS AND RESULTS We used data from Get With The Guidelines-Heart Fa...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether early maternal discharge increases newborn readmission rates. METHODS Singleton vaginal deliveries weighing at least 2500 grams were extracted from April 1, 1997 to March 31, 2000 Alberta hospital abstracts and linked to records of birth. Potentially preventable readmissions were for dehydration, jaundice, feeding problems, inadequate weight gain, and social rea...

A ntithrombotic treatment for acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE) should consist of a therapeutic dose of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) for o5 days, followed by a vitamin K antagonist for o3 months. LMWH has simplified the initial management of DVT because it is at least as effective and safe as unfractionated heparin and can be administered in fixed subcutaneous d...

In recent decades, we have witnessed dramatic reductions in the mortality risk of acute myocardial infarction and, at the same time, concerted and fruitful efforts to reduce length of stay. In this issue, Senaratne et al. report the results of an expanded strategy of early discharge, which included most patients admitted to the Coronary/Intermediate Care Unit (CICU) of the Grey Nuns Hospital in...

BACKGROUND Thrombolytic treatment reduces mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction but is associated with recurrent thrombotic events after admission, and it is unclear whether current practices of early hospital discharge are safe. Timing of first major adverse events (death, reinfarction, unstable angina, secondary ventricular fibrillation) in the early post-infarction period wa...

BACKGROUND The Scottish Cervical Screening Programme currently offers three-yearly screening to all women between the ages of 20 and 60. However, previous studies have indicated that well-screened women over the age of 50 are likely to be at low risk of cervical neoplasia. This study aimed to explore the implications of discharging these women from screening in a typical area of Scotland. MET...

S ince 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have publicly reported risk standardized 30-day readmis-sion rates for patients hospitalized with heart failure, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and pneumonia. Over the next few years, the portfolio of readmission measures will expand to include patients with a broad range of medical and surgical conditions. 1 Furthermore, under the...

This paper presents a case study of an early discharge scheme funded by casemix incentives and discusses limitations of a casemix model of funding whereby hospital inpatient care is funded separately from care in other settings. The POSITIVE Rehabilitation program received 151 patients discharged early from hospital in a twelve-month period. Program evaluation demonstrates a 40.9% drop in the a...