Background: Hospital readmission rates may be influenced by the level of healthcare literacy. Patients who lack an understanding of their diagnosis and warning signs have the potential to not seek medical care in a timely manner. The information patients tend to receive upon discharge is lengthy and unclear. In addition, instructions are not standardized across [...]

Background: Patients who are frequently admitted to Medicine inpatient services comprise a distinct subset of readmitted patients about whom not much is known. A prior study collected data on characteristics of 153 frequently hospitalized patients. This was a follow-up evaluation to determine the categories of patients the original cohort belonged to, and to collect mortality [...]

Background: Heart failure (HF) is a major public health concern that affects over 5 million adults in the US. HF is among the most common reasons for hospital admissions and presents a considerable cost burden to the medical system. Patients are stabilized and carefully monitored at the hospital but often go home without adequate follow-up [...]

Background: Recurrent hospitalizations are responsible for considerable health care costs. This retrospective observational study was undertaken to determine whether timely communication of care (COC), such as direct phone call or voicemail notice, following a hospitalization is effective at increasing clinic follow-up rates and reducing readmissions within 30 days after discharge. Methods: We analyzed 237 patients [...]