The Burden of Early Hospital Readmission and Drug-Related Factors Associated with Early Hospital Readmission in Jordan: an overview of the literature

Soadad Saleh

doi:10.35516/jjps.v18i4.3555

Authors

Soadad Saleh Phd student at The Hashemite university joined with Strathclyde university

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/jjps.v18i4.3555

Abstract

Background: Early hospital readmission imposes a significant economic burden on healthcare systems globally. It’s also a commonly used measure for quality of care. Several countries exerted substantial efforts to minimize the prevalence of early readmission by understanding the underlying factors and implementing programs to reduce it. This study aims to assess the current knowledge on early hospital readmission in Jordan, including risk factors associated with it, specifically those related to drugs.

Method: Literature searches in PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, and Google Scholar identified 57 studies, 14 of which focused on Jordan's healthcare. Two studies directly addressed early hospital readmission in Jordan; all other 12 studies assessed quality of care issues, including treatment-related problems, drug-related problems, and the importance of the clinical pharmacist's role in improving patients’ health outcomes.

Results: A 29% early readmission rate was reported in Jordan, 44% of which were deemed avoidable. Early readmissions were attributed to different factors, including behavioural factors, smoking, non-adherence to medication, discharge against advice, comorbidities, unclear follow-up, and poor discharge plans. Comorbidities were one of the leading factors to increased risk of readmission, accounting for 36% of all readmissions and 47% of avoidable readmissions reported. Moreover, it was found that the presence of certain diseases as pre-existing comorbidities increased the risk of avoidable early readmission substantially. Those comorbidities include digestive, respiratory, circulatory, genitourinary, and parasitic-infectious diseases.

Conclusion: Findings of this review reveal a compelling need for future studies to assess the true implications of early hospital readmission and drug-related factors associated with it.

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