Patient- and Hospital-Level Factors Associated With Readmission for Malignant Pleural Effusion.

PURPOSE: Readmission after hospitalization for malignant pleural effusion (MPE) may represent gaps in the quality of health care delivery. The goal of this study was to determine the frequency of 30-day readmission for MPE and identify clinical factors associated with rehospitalization. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort of adults hospitalized for MPE from 2009 to 2011 was analyzed using an administrative database. The primary outcome was all-cause 30-day readmission rate. Hierarchic mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to examine associations between patient- and hospital-level factors and 30-day readmission and assess variation in readmission rates across hospitals. RESULTS: The 7-, 14-, 30-, 60-, and 90-day readmission rates for MPE were 16.1%, 25.9%, 38.3%, 52.5%, and 63.8%, respectively. The most common primary diagnoses for 30-day readmission were MPE (69.5%) and other clinical issues related to malignancy (21.1%). Clinical factors associated with 30-day readmission were female sex (odds ratio [OR], 0.78; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.95), greater number of medical comorbidities (OR, 1.51; 95% CI, 1.15 to 1.99), and having a do-not-resuscitate order (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.84). Hospitals in the 90th percentile were only 1.1 times more likely to have a 30-day readmission for MPE than those in the lowest 10th percentile (40.9% v 37%). CONCLUSION: Readmission for MPE is common and frequently results from progression of malignancy. Readmission rates were similar across all hospitals, suggesting they are unlikely to be mutable using conventional approaches to reduce rehospitalizations. Instead, interventions may need to focus on addressing care planning at the end of life.

What does it take to have sustained use of decision aids? A programme evaluation for the Breast Cancer Initiative.

BACKGROUND: The Breast Cancer Initiative (BCI) was started in 2002 to disseminate breast cancer decision aids (PtDAs) to providers. METHODS: We analysed BCI programme data for 195 sites and determined the proportion of sites involved in each of five stages of dissemination and implementation of PtDAs. We conducted cross-sectional mail and telephone surveys of 79 sites with the most interest in implementation. We examined barriers associated with sustained use of the PtDAs. RESULTS: Since 2002 we attempted contact with 195 sites to join the BCI. The majority indicated interest in using PtDAs 172 of 195 (88%), 93 of 195 signed up for the BCI (48%), 57 of 195 reported distributing PtDAs to at least one patient (57%), and 46 of 195 reported sustained use (24%). We analysed data from interviews with 59 of 79 active sites (75% response rate). The majority of providers 49 of 59 (83%) had watched the PtDAs, and 46 of 59 (78%) distributed them to patients. The most common barriers were lack of a reliable way to identify patients before decisions are made (37%), a lack of time to distribute the PtDAs (22%) and having too many educational materials (15%). Sites that indicated a lack of clinician support as a barrier were significantly less likely to have sustained use compared to sites that didn't (33% vs. 74%, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Community breast cancer providers, both physicians and non-physicians, express a high interest in using PtDAs with their patients. About a quarter of sites report sustained use of the PtDAs in routine care.