TARGET-READ: results published
06.06.2023 – Results of a randomized clinical trial on the effects of a multimodal transitional care intervention in patients at high risk of readmission were published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Hospital readmissions are frequent, costly, and sometimes preventable but the best interventions for reducing them remain unclear. The randomized controlled trial TARGET-READ assessed whether a multimodal transitional care intervention would reduce hospital readmission in patients at a high risk for readmission.
A total of 1386 patients were randomized in three centers in Switzerland. 145/692 (21%) and 134/694 (19%) patients had an unplanned readmission or died within 30 days in the intervention and control group, respectively. The absolute risk difference was 1.7% (95% CI, −2.5% to 5.9%, p = 0.44), i.e. the intervention did not decrease the risk of unplanned readmission or death. There was no evidence of any intervention effects on time to unplanned readmission or death, postdischarge health care use, patient satisfaction with the quality of their care transition, or readmission costs.
CTU Bern was involved in the planning and conduct of the trial and set up the trial database, did on-site and central data monitoring, and performed the statistical analysis.
The publication is accessible under https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2804119.