Table 3.

Multivariate Analysis Determining the Association of Various Patient and System Factors Associated with Hospital Readmission Within 3 Months

Factor	Relative Hazard of Readmission (95% CI)*
Patient has a regular family physician	2.26 (1.20 to 4.29)
Regional average household income increased by 1 quartile	0.87 (0.77 to 0.98)
Number of physician assessments before admission increased by 1	1.01 (1.00 to 1.02)
Number of hospital days before admission increased by 1	1.31 (1.18 to 1.47)
Patient has cancer	1.55 (1.04 to 2.29)
Number of chronic medical conditions increased by 1	1.08 (1.01 to 1.16)
Patient was admitted for a GI bleed	0.48 (0.27 to 0.86)
Patient had a procedure during the hospitalization	1.55 (1.17 to 2.06)
Length of stay increased by 1 day	1.01 (1.00 to 1.02)
Discharge summary received by 1 or more follow-up physicians	0.74 (0.50 to 1.11)

^*A relative hazard above 1 indicates that the factor was associated with an increased risk readmission within 3 months. A relative risk below 1 indicates that the factor was associated with a decreased risk of readmission. If the 95% confidence interval excludes 1, the association is statistically at the P = .05 level.