Identifying Adverse Events After Discharge From a Community Hospital

This 24-month prospective cohort study will examine the frequency and types of adverse events experienced by patients 3-4 weeks after discharge from the Tallahassee Memorial Hospital (TMH), the timeliness of post-discharge ambulatory appointments, and identify the associations, if any, of readily available patient, system, and patient care factors with the occurrence of these post-discharge adverse events. Data collection will involve telephone interviews with patients, and review of inpatient and outpatient health records for services received, as necessary, within 3-4 weeks after discharge from the hospital. These data sources will allow study physicians to implicitly (with some explicit guidance) determine whether an adverse event has occurred, distinguish preventable from ameliorable adverse events, and determine the types of adverse events. In addition, the study will determine the timeliness of post-discharge ambulatory appointments by conducting post-discharge telephone interviews with patients and reviewing health records.

Inclusion criteria

• age over 21 years
• discharged home from TMH general medical service
• patients must have a telephone number where they can be reached for an interview
• patient or surrogate must be able to interview in Spanish or English

Exclusion criteria

• age less than 21 years
• patient or surrogate non-English or Spanish speaking
• patients being discharged to an institutionalized care (assisted living facilities, prisons, etc.)
• patients not discharged from general medical service