News: Outpatient care after schizophrenia hospitalization results in lower readmission risk, study finds

Outpatient follow-up after psychiatric hospitalization among patients with first-admission schizophrenia was associated with a significantly lower risk of readmission, according to a new study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

Past research into whether timely outpatient follow-up is associated with reduced readmission was mixed. Some previous studies found that a reduced risk of readmission 90 or 180 days after discharge was associated with outpatient follow-up within the first 30 days after discharge. However, other studies found no significant association between outpatient care and reduced readmission.

Researchers noted that schizophrenia, which is a chronic and severe psychiatric disorder, affects approximately 0.33%-0.75% of the global population. The researchers examined nationwide claims data and identified patients between 2015 and 2020 with a first admission for schizophrenia (identified with ICD-10 code F20). First admission was defined as having no psychiatric service utilization during the preceding three years. Of those patients, 53.2% received outpatient follow-up within 30 days after discharge.

The researchers found that outpatient follow-up was associated with a significantly lower risk of readmission within 60 days, 90 days, 120 days, 150 days, and 180 days after discharge. They noted that the association weakened as the follow-up duration increased to the point that there was no statistically significant association 365 days after discharge.

Editor’s note: To read the full study, click here. To read additional coverage from JustCoding, click here.