Managing Recovery at Home: 4 Tips to Prevent Hospital Readmission

When recovering at home from surgery, an illness, or an accident that requires emergency care, the last thing an individual wants to worry about is having to return to the hospital. However, a 2019 University of Michigan article states that 15% of older adults will be readmitted within a month of being discharged from the hospital. And a large number of these seniors will be readmitted for infections or preexisting causes that are linked to their initial stay at the hospital. Readmission to the hospital is stressful, costly, and can take a toll on an individual’s health overall. Additionally, the likelihood of developing a serious illness like pneumonia or an infection like C. difficile increases with the amount of time spent in the hospital.

Qualicare’s senior care franchise partners want our clients to have the best chance of a speedy and safe recovery at home. Fortunately, clients and caregivers can help prevent hospital readmission by taking control of the situation, knowing risk factors, and planning ahead. The following are a few tips to prevent hospital readmission for seniors.

Engage primary care doctor and specialists before going home

When an individual visits the hospital, whether planned or unplanned, it’s important to engage the primary care physician as well as specialists. Sometimes hospital personnel will call patients’ doctors and communicate with them about an individual’s care, but not always. This means the burden of communication about overall health can fall on the person visiting the hospital, and their family and caregivers.

Before leaving the hospital, be sure to contact all of the physicians you need to follow up with and make appointments for visits and tests. This is extremely important because half of the seniors who were readmitted to the hospital within 30 days did not see a doctor after they were discharged. Healing and good health require proper maintenance.

Communication is key!

There is a lot of information to keep track of after leaving the hospital. For example, patients and caregivers will receive information about tests that need to be performed post-hospital visit, instructions on basic caregiving, what to expect when going home, and check-ups and appointment reminders with specialists.

But all of that information may not necessarily be communicated without the patient and caregiver asking questions. One easy way to be sure you have all of the information you need is to ask clarifying questions and repeat instructions from medical professionals. Asking questions after repeating their instructions like “am I doing this right?” and “can you tell me again?” will help empower clients and caregivers to fully understand post-hospital care at home.

At-home communication is extremely important as well. Prior to leaving the hospital, make a plan with the provider as to how their healthcare team wants to communicate. Some clients prefer texting, others prefer calls, and others enjoy tech-savvy options like emails and automated patient engagement software.

Be sure medication instructions & discharge details are clear

According to an article in AARP, one of the prime causes of hospital readmissions is problems due to mixing up medications. To prevent this, be sure that doctors know everything that a patient is taking, including supplements, vitamins, and over-the-counter drugs. It can be easy to arrive at the hospital with one collection of drugs and then leave with another, which can easily lead to mix-ups. It may be necessary to check a patient’s home if they were admitted to the hospital without warning, to see what is laying around in the kitchen, in cabinets, etc. It can be very dangerous to duplicate or mix up medications, and doctors need to be as informed as possible to prevent hospital readmission.

Additionally, it’s important to know how to react if a health condition is showing signs of danger. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell if you need to call 911, or if you need to take a deep breath. Therefore, understanding the information sent home from the hospital is vital. However, it can sometimes be difficult to understand complicated healthcare discharge packets. Some discharge packets are dozens of pages, which creates an unnecessary burden on a patient and a caretaker. So before leaving the hospital, be sure both client and caretaker have the basic, easy-to-understand materials needed to best care for the senior in need of in-home healing. And be sure that there are easy-to-find contacts in case of emergency.

Utilize hospital-to-home resources for help and guidance

Prior to leaving the hospital, be sure to check out Medicare’s Hospital Discharge Checklist (PDF) for patients and their caregivers. This brochure has pointers on organizing the tasks of daily life, including shopping for groceries, cleaning the house, paying bills, and mental health support. The guide also lists resources for national hotlines to help seniors.

The United Hospital Fund also put together a guide for leaving the hospital for the family caregiver, Hospital-To-Home Discharge Guide. This guide helps the family caregiver understand their role as part of the hospital discharge team. It covers a variety of issues that may arise while a patient is being discharged, including information about appealing a discharge decision. The guide also helps to prepare the home for caregiving, listing supplies needed, and how to rearrange the home.

Even if a senior lives alone, they are not without guidance and help for post-hospital care. A number of resources have been developed to help seniors stay well and organized. The Agency for Health Research and Quality produced a guide for making appointments after a hospital visit and taking medications. You can find the resource in this straightforward and simple tool: Going Home Guide (PDF).