Readmission

Aims The purpose of this study was to validate patient's primary caregiver and their nurse's perception of patient discharge readiness assessment and their association with postdischarge medical consumption. Design The study employed a descriptive research, prospective longitudinal study design. Method The study was performed in a ward of a medical centre in Taipei, Taiwan, from June 2017–May 2018. Obtained data were analysed using an independent t test, one‐way ANOVA and logistic regression approach.

Patients with chronic illness often require ongoing support postdischarge. This study evaluated a simple-to-use, mobile health-based program designed to improve postdischarge follow-up via (1) tailored communication to patients using automated calls, (2) structured feedback to informal caregivers, and (3) automated alerts to clinicians about urgent problems.

It has been well‐established that social environmental factors can increase the risk of rehospitalization for people receiving home healthcare services. For caregivers who might be challenged to keep up with sometimes unfamiliar health monitoring tasks or to know when to seek help, mobile health technology offers the potential to enhance the skills of informal caregivers and to improve the communication between home and clinical care.