Merete Gregersen
Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark
Title: Patient satisfaction and early geriatric follow-up after discharge in older acute medical patients
Biography
Biography: Merete Gregersen
Abstract
Objectives: ‘Early geriatric follow-up after discharge’ is a care model designed to create a safe transition from hospital to home by adding a follow-up visit in the patient’s home within 24 hours after discharge. Patient satisfaction is of major importance to evaluate health care services. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare patient satisfaction after early geriatric follow-up with that of usual care after discharge. Materials and methods: The target population was 75+ years’ medical patients acutely admitted to an emergency department. Consecutive admission days were randomized to intervention or control. Admitted eligible patients belonged to the assigned day’s strategy. A quantitative 14- item satisfaction questionnaire, based on semi-structured interviews, was mailed to all cognitively well-functioning patients in both groups 2-4 weeks after discharge. The themes of importance were: feeling safe at home, receiving sufficient information, experiencing good communication between health care professionals, involvement in care decisions, and relatives’ involvement. Each question was evaluated by a 5-point Likert scale. The patients, who did not respond within 14 days, were reminded by phone and offered assistance to fill out the questionnaire. Results: In total, 173 out of 272 patients (64%) returned their questionnaire. Baseline characteristics of the groups were similar. More patients in the intervention group were satisfied with the early geriatric follow-up compared to the patients who received usual care. More women were non-responders than men. Conclusion: Older medical patients acutely admitted to hospital were more satisfied with early geriatric follow-up than usual follow-up after discharge.