Table 3.
Principal factor contributing to readmission and its avoidability
| All patients (N = 603) % | Preventable cases (n = 246) % | % of preventability within each factor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| System factor | |||
| Inadequate discharge planning | 2.3 | 5.7 | 100.0 |
| Failure of postdischarge follow-up care | 0.3 | 0.4 | 50.0 |
| Lack of care coordination | 0.3 | 0.8 | 100.0 |
| Inadequate palliative care/terminal care | 1.7 | 4.1 | 100.0 |
| A need to transfer to Convalescence | 1.3 | 3.3 | 100.0 |
| Others | 0.2 | 0.4 | 100.0 |
| Sub-total | 6.1 | 14.6 | 97.3 |
| Clinician factor | |||
| Premature discharge | 4.0 | 9.3 | 95.8 |
| Drug-related adverse event | 4.5 | 7.7 | 70.4 |
| Discharge with a missing/erroneous diagnosis/therapy | 2.8 | 6.9 | 100.0 |
| Suboptimal medical care | 3.5 | 7.3 | 85.7 |
| Threshold for admission | 4.5 | 10.6 | 96.3 |
| Others | 0.2 | 0.4 | 100.0 |
| Sub-total | 19.4 | 42.3 | 88.9 |
| Patient factor | |||
| New complaint | 32.3 | 3.3 | 4.1 |
| Relapse of previous complaint | 22.7 | 22.4 | 40.1 |
| Progress of previous complaint | 10.8 | 6.5 | 24.6 |
| Recurrence of previous pathology | 3.8 | 1.6 | 17.4 |
| Compliance problem | 4.1 | 8.1 | 80.0 |
| Others | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sub-total | 74.0 | 41.9 | 23.1 |
| Social factor | |||
| Patient coping | 0.2 | 0.4 | 100.0 |
| Carer system, lack of support & community services | 0.3 | 0.8 | 100.0 |
| Others | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sub-total | 0.5 | 1.2 | 100.0 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 40.8 |