– High costs
– New hospital complications
– Lost work days
– Burden for the patients
– Low quality of care
There is an almost complete separation between the hospital and the ambulant setting. During an acute disease, a hospitalized patient is surrounded with care 24/24, but as soon as the patient is discharged from the hospital, all the responsibility return to the patient, without any specific support during this frail period.
We know however that 12% of the discharged patients in Switzerland are returning to the hospital within 30 days, and actually most of them within the first 2 weeks. The consequences are manifolds: these readmissions cost around 2 billion Swiss Francs per year. Then, for each hospitalization there are new risks of complications, and the patients are not able to work. It’s overall a burden for them and for their relatives. And finally, it may reflect a low quality of care.
The objective with the TARGET-READ trial is to bridge the gap between hospital and home care, by improving the quality of the discharge process and consequently to avoid unnecessary hospital readmissions.