Follow-up after hospital discharge: does insurance make a difference?

As the length of hospital stays decreases, important medical problems are often deferred for follow-up after discharge. We investigated whether patients without regular physicians actually receive post-discharge care. Patients without regular physicians at the time of admission to a private nonprofit teaching hospital were surveyed by telephone one month after discharge. Forty-six percent were non-Caucasian and 53 percent had Medicaid or no insurance. Although discharge planning was documented for 97 percent of patients, only 54 percent of study participants had completed follow-up one month later and only 46 percent could identify a regular physician. Among all patients with a particular need for follow-up, Medicaid and uninsured patients were less likely to receive follow-up (p = 0.042), to identify a regular physician (p = 0.007), or to complete discharge instructions (p = 0.018). Cost of medical care was found to be a significant deterrent to obtaining follow-up for patients with Medicaid or with no insurance (p = 0.001). Expanded access to care, along with focused discharge planning, may improve completion of follow-up for Medicaid and uninsured patients.