A Study Evaluating the Use of Potential Predictors of Readmission in Hospitalized Medicine Patients

The primary objective of this study is the development and implementation of a survey administered to hospitalized patients on Internal Medicine that can be used in conjunction with previously validated predictive indices to identify patients at risk for readmission. The survey consists of previously validated as well as investigator developed survey instruments that will assess the following: health literacy, numeracy, medication adherence, self-efficacy, and tolerance. The predictive indices are the LACE, Charlson Comorbidity Index (included in LACE), and the Comorbidity Polypharmacy Score (CPS) which have been previously validated for risk of readmissions. The survey consists of both closed and open ended questions. A part of the survey will be administered by the study personnel while the rest is a questionnaire-based survey that will be completed by the subjects. Study personnel will be with the subjects in an open dialogue while subjects are completing the survey to answer any questions and identify questions that may be confusing or bias subjects. Approximately 30 days after hospital discharge, patients will be contacted via telephone to ask how many admissions and/or Emergency Department (ED) visits they have had since discharge. A correlation analysis will be done of the different aspects of the survey to determine whether there are redundancies. A regression analysis will be done to determine the predictive ability of the survey combined with predictive indices for readmission.