Framed messages effects on readmissions

Abstract

Objective: As the eighth leading cause of death in the US, pneumonia (PN) is relevant to the health of the elderly and young. Accountability for readmission is part of the Affordable Care Act’s Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (RRP), which levies penalties for readmissions. We examined communication using framing effects which can motivate patients’ decisions collaboratively with providers for post discharge care and readmissions prevention. Communication strategies (CS) can facilitate decision-making (DM) about health care choices. The project’s aims were to (1) compare CS of framing effects (positive or negative messages) on the readmission outcome 30 days post discharge; (2) assess PN readmissions decrease 30 days post discharge when CS include the patient/family in decisions about transitions; (3) determine the impact of between patients and HCPs agreement for post hospital care, and (4) examine confounding effects between framing effects and readmission rates of age, PN severity index (PSI), and the number of diagnoses.
Methods: A double-blind randomized control trial (RCT) used parallel assignment of 153 PN patients to one of three arms to test the communication framing effects using power analysis, odds ratio, Fischer’s exact and ANOVA. Arm A was the Intervention positive framing group (n = 44), arm B was the Intervention Negative framing group (n = 65), and arm C was the control group (n = 44).
Conclusions: Findings suggest that framed messages aid in the reduction of PN readmission rates in hospitals. DM strategies incorporates education and understanding of risk by the patient, so the healthcare teams can encourage and improve readmission outcomes.