Is Referral to Home Health Rehabilitation After Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Associated With 90-Day Hospital Readmission for Adult Patients With Stroke?

The sample was convenience sampled from 11 inpatient rehabilitation facilities in 2005 to 2006, so it may not represent all stroke patients now. The outcome was self-reported, so some hospital readmissions may have been missed. The study did not know whether patients actually used the home health referral, or what type and duration of home health therapy they received. The analysis could not control for unmeasured factors, such as other referrals, so the association does not prove that home health referral caused lower readmission. The data lacked some recently reported risk factors for readmission, such as distance to post-acute care and household income.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by NIH extramural research.

Do not conclude that referring every stroke patient to home health will prevent readmission. This was an observational study, and the authors could not tell whether patients used the referral, what services they received, or whether other unmeasured factors explained the lower readmission.