A quantitative analysis of the effect of continuity of care on 30-day readmission and in-hospital mortality among patients with acute ischemic stroke

Background Continuity of care is a core element of high-quality patient care in a primary care setting and one of a national priority. Objective To assess and quantify the impact of continuity of care on 30-day readmissions, 30-day inpatient mortality, and hospital length of stay (LOS), among hospitalized patients with acute ischemic stroke disease. Design and Subjects Observational retrospective cohort (n = 356,134) using a 2.75% random sample (n=1,036,753) from the State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) database from 2006 to 2016. Measures We assessed continuity of care using an integrated continuity of care CoC score, calculated by merging three standard indices of continuity of care – Bice–Boxerman Continuity of Care Index (COCI), Herfindahl Index (HI), and Usual Provider of Care (UPC) Index via a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We measured 30-day hospital readmissions, 30-day inpatient mortality, and LOS. Results Our analysis revealed that hospital LOS was significantly affected by CoC. The statistically significant average treatment effect (ATEs), expressed in risk difference (RD), ranged between 0.27 [95%CI: (0.07, 0.48)] and 1.0 day [95%CI: (0.57, 1.43)]. A similar trend was observed for 30-day readmission (ATEs ranging from 0.0067 [95%CI: (0.0002, 0.0132) to 0.0071 [95%CI: (0.0005, 0.0136)]), and inpatient mortality (ATEs ranging from 0.0006 [95% confidence interval (CI): (0.0001, 0.0012)] to 0.0007 [95%CI: (0.0001, 0.0012)]). Conclusions Our findings suggest a strong association between continuity of care and clinical outcomes. Continuity of care leads to a reduction in mortality, rehospitalization, and hospital length of stay.