Community Use of Physical and Occupational Therapy After Stroke and Risk of Hospital Readmission

Publication date: Available online 12 August 2017
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Janet K. Freburger, Dongmei Li, Erin P. Fraher
ObjectivesTo determine whether receipt of therapy and number and timing of therapy visits decreased hospital readmission risk in stroke survivors discharged home.DesignRetrospective cohort analysis of Medicare claims (2010-2013).SettingAcute care hospital and community.ParticipantsPatients hospitalized for stroke who were discharged home and survived the first 30 days (N=23,413; mean [SD] age of 77.6 [7.5] years).InterventionsPhysical and occupational therapist use in the home and/or outpatient setting in the first 30 days after discharge (any use, number of visits, days to first visit).Main Outcome MeasureHospital readmission 30-60 days after discharge. Covariates included demographic characteristics, proxy variables for functional status, hospitalization characteristics, comorbidities, and prior health care use. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between therapist use and readmission.ResultsDuring the first 30 days after discharge, 31% of patients saw a therapist in the home, 11% saw a therapist in an outpatient setting, and 59% did not see a therapist. Relative to patients who had no therapist contact, those who saw an outpatient therapist were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital (odds ratio 0.73 [059-0.90]). While the point estimates did not reach statistical significance, there was some suggestion that the greater the number of therapist visits in the home and the sooner the visits started, the lower the risk of hospital readmission.ConclusionAfter controlling for observable demographic, clinical, and health-related differences, we found that individuals who received outpatient therapy in the first 30 days after discharge home following stroke were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital in the subsequent 30 days, relative to those who received no therapy.



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