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Primary Healthcare
Family doctor visit after a hospital stay for selected chronic conditions
Percentage of patients seen by a family doctor within 7 or 30 days of discharge after a hospital stay related to one of the following chronic conditions: high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, heart failure, ischaemic heart disease (e.g., angina, heart attack), or chronic renal failure. (see data definition)
*Data courtesy of Alberta Health Services and Alberta Health. Please note: Results for the Borealis PCN are not currently available due to data quality issues caused when Saddle Hills and Peace Region PCNs merged to form the Borealis PCN. Health Quality Albertais working to get an updated dataset and will publish results from Borealis PCN as soon as possible.
What do you see?
- What is the difference between visit rates at 7 and 30 days after discharge?
- Are there differences in the follow-up rates between the mainly urban zones or Primary Care Networks (PCNs) (Calgary and Edmonton) compared to the more rural zones or PCNs (North, Central, South)? What might account for these differences?
- Are follow-up rates changing over time? What might account for this?
- Are there certain conditions which seem to receive more follow-up care by a family doctor than others? How does this vary across zones/PCNs?
Why is it meaningful?
- Is there a relationship between this data and another healthcare area?
- Do you see successes worth highlighting or opportunities for improvement?
Understanding family doctor visit after a hospital stay for selected chronic conditions
Family doctors have a significant role in caring for patients with chronic conditions. Timely follow-up after a hospital stay enables the family doctor to review what happened while the patient was in hospital and make sure any required follow-up or tests are completed. It may help reduce the risk of the patient returning to hospital for the same problem or developing further problems or complications.
This measure is related to information transfer ― family doctors need to know that their patients have been in hospital. Patients and family doctors can both impact this measure. Patients are often encouraged to contact their family doctor’s office to book an appointment after they are discharged from hospital. Family doctors who know their patients have been in hospital may call the patient to come in for follow-up. Follow-up may be early (within 7 days) or later (within 30 days) depending on the situation and patients’ needs.
Considerations when reviewing the results
- Includes only patients who did not get readmitted within the time period (7 or 30 days).
- Includes only visits where a family doctor is seen. It does not include visits with a team member in the doctor’s office (e.g., nurse or pharmacist) or by a program or service provided by a primary care network (PCN).
- May include family doctor visits for problems not related to the patient’s chronic condition or hospital stay.
- Consider whether early (7 days) or later (within 30 days) follow-up is most appropriate for your patients with these chronic conditions.