Effect of Discharge Via an Intermediate Care Unit

Aged Clinical Trial

Official title:

Can Discharge Via an Intermediate Care Unit Prevent Aggravation of Disease and Loss of Functionality, Without Increasing the Level of Cost? A Controlled Observational Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01706744
• Other study ID #: 2009/1697
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: October 11, 2012
• Last updated: December 7, 2015
• Start date: February 2010
• Est. completion date: December 2013

Study information

• Verified date: December 2015
• Source: Norwegian University of Science and Technology
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Norway:National Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The main goal is to investigate the following topics:

1. Can discharge via the Intermediate Care Unit in Stjørdal, compared to direct discharge to Verdal Municipality, be equally effective in preventing aggravation of disease and loss of function for patients over 60 years that have been hospitalized in Levanger hospital?

2. Are the cost by discharge to the Intermediate Care Unit in Stjørdal, when the hospital is not located in the same Municipality, comparable to the cost by direct discharge to the Municipality of Verdal, for patients over 60 years that have been hospitalized in Levanger hospital?

3. Which issues are considered important by patients and health personnel during discharge, arrival and follow up in the Municipality, to ensure an optimal interaction between the involved units.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 328
• Est. completion date: December 2013
• Est. primary completion date: December 2013
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 60 Years to 99 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

Patients 60 years old or older from Stjørdal- or Verdal municipality,

• given consent,

• admitted from their home,

• diagnostics completed and necessary treatment started

• the patient need not less than 3-4 days institutionalization for treatment/rehabilitation/care

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with severe dementia

• Patients with severe disease who cannot give consent

• Patients with severe disease with short life expectancy (including severe cancer)

Study Design

Allocation: Non-Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Prevention

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Aged
• Patients

Intervention

Other:
• Intermediate care unit

• Local health care 1

• Local health care 2

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Norway	Sykehuset Levanger	Levanger
Norway	Distriksmedisinsk Senter	Stjørdal
Norway	Stjørdal Kommune	Stjørdal
Norway	Verdal kommune	Verdal

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Norway, 

References & Publications (3)

Dahl U, Johnsen R, Sætre R, Steinsbekk A. The influence of an intermediate care hospital on health care utilization among elderly patients--a retrospective comparative cohort study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2015 Feb 1;15:48. doi: 10.1186/s12913-015-0708-4. — View Citation

Dahl U, Steinsbekk A, Jenssen S, Johnsen R. Hospital discharge of elderly patients to primary health care, with and without an intermediate care hospital - a qualitative study of health professionals' experiences. Int J Integr Care. 2014 Apr 30;14:e011. e — View Citation

Dahl U, Steinsbekk A, Johnsen R. Effectiveness of an intermediate care hospital on readmissions, mortality, activities of daily living and use of health care services among hospitalized adults aged 60 years and older--a controlled observational study. BMC — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Hospital readmission	Acute admission to hospital within 30 days from previous discharge	30 days	No
Primary	Use of local health care services		up to 1 year	No
Secondary	death		up to 1 year	No
Secondary	hospital admission		up to 1 year	No
Secondary	functional assessment status		up to 6 months	No
Secondary	Health service cost		up to 1 year	No