Elderly Patients Readmitted within 30 Days after Discharge From Hospital
Ministry of HealthSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong’s inquiry regarding 30-day readmission rates for patients aged 65 and above and the specific measures implemented to reduce these occurrences. Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong noted that raw readmission rates rose from 18.9% in 2013 to 19.5% in 2017 due to an aging population, while age-adjusted rates remained between 11.6% and 11.8%. To address this, the Ministry has introduced the Hospital-to-Home program to provide integrated transition support and caregiver training, which has already served over 14,000 patients. Additionally, more community hospitals have been developed to offer sub-acute and rehabilitation care to improve patient function and recovery before discharge. Finally, the Ministry continues to collaborate with primary and community care providers to enhance the continuation of care for elderly patients within the community.
Transcript
84 Assoc Prof Daniel Goh Pei Siong asked the Minister for Health (a) whether the readmission rates for patients aged 65 and above within 30 days after their discharge from public hospitals have declined in the last five years; and (b) what measures have been taken to minimise readmission.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Across all public hospitals, the readmission rates for patients aged 65 and older within 30 days after discharge showed a slight increase in the last five years, rising from 18.9% in 2013 to 19.5% in 2017, as our patients get older. After adjusting for patients’ age and severity of their conditions, readmission rates range between 11.6% and 11.8%.
Our public hospitals have implemented various programmes to reduce readmissions. These include the Hospital-to-Home (H2H) programme which provide integrated care support to facilitate patients’ transition home via medication reconciliation, telephonic support, linkages with appropriate community-based services and caregiver training. To date, H2H has served more than 14,000 patients. The Ministry of Health (MOH) has also developed more community hospitals to provide sub-acute as well as rehabilitation care for acute hospital patients who require a longer period of recovery. This enhances the functions and confidence of the patients, thus reducing the risk of readmission.
MOH and the public hospitals will continue to work with community and primary care providers to enhance the continuation of care for our patients in the community after their discharge from the hospitals.