Readmission within 30 days of discharge from the hospital is associated with adverse health outcomes, and the 30-day readmission rate serves as an important barometer of a hospital’s quality of care.1 Hospital readmissions also represent a significant financial burden. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality estimated that in 2011, more than 3 million US adults were readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of discharge and accumulated $41 billion in hospital costs.2 Several studies have determined that people living with HIV (PLWHIV) have a higher risk for 30-day readmission than the general population.1,3 For example, a database study of American adults found that people with HIV were 1.5 times more likely than people without HIV to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge.1
Recently, the Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention HIV/AIDS in British Columbia (STOP HIV/AIDS BC) study group in Vancouver, Canada, evaluated whether the relationship between PLWHIV and their providers affected a patient’s risk for readmission in the first 30 days after discharge from the hospital.3 The group noted that studies in the general population have shown continuity of care with a health provider reduces the risk for 30-day readmission.3 “Despite improvements in care changing HIV to a chronic condition, there has been a lack of studies exploring patient-provider attachment in detail. We wanted to better understand how family physicians might be able to improve the health outcomes of PLWHIV given this change,” explained study author Lianping Ti, PhD, in an interview. Dr Ti is a research scientist with the Epidemiology and Population Health program at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and an assistant professor in the department of medicine at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. “We found that a higher percentage of patient-provider attachment was negatively associated with 30-day hospital readmission among PLWHIV,” she said.