[Follow-up home visits to elderly patients after hospitalization. A randomized controlled study].

The aim of this randomized, controlled study was to evaluate a model for follow-up of patients aged 75 or more after discharge from hospital. One hundred and sixty-three patients from the intervention group were visited in their homes by a district nurse on the day after discharge from hospital and two weeks later by their general practitioner. For 181 control patients, discharge took place according to the usual procedures. One year after discharge 25 patients from the control group had been admitted to nursing homes compared to ten from the intervention group (p < 0.05). At the same time the control patients stayed 2700 days in the institutions, the intervention patients 1950 days. It is proposed to introduce this simple and practicable follow-up routine when elderly people are discharged from hospital.