Project Re-Engineered Discharge (Project RED) has previously demonstrated that patients who received the RED were 30% less likely than patients receiving usual care to access inpatient or emergency services within 30 days of discharge. In this project, the investigators add a new dimension to RED by integrating screening, referral and treatment for depression into the original RED intervention and determining if this enhanced intervention increases the effectiveness of RED in preventing readmissions and controlling costs in the 180 days after discharge for patients with signs of depression.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
709
The Case Management intervention will continue for 12 weeks post-discharge (from the index admission).
Boston Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
All-cause readmission rates
The primary hypothesis is to test whether the RED intervention plus the collaborative-care approach for depression (RED-D) will reduce the all-cause 30 and 90 day hospital readmission rates for patients who screen positive for depressive symptoms
Time frame: 30 days and 90 days post-discharge from hospital at index admission
All-cause reutilization rates
The primary hypothesis is to test whether the RED intervention plus the collaborative-care approach for depression (RED-D) will reduce the all-cause 30 and 90 day hospital utilization rates for patients who screen positive for depressive symptoms
Time frame: 30 & 90 days post discharge from index hospitalization
cost-saving
The economic analysis will investigate whether the two interventions are cost saving and whether the RED-D intervention is more cost saving than the RED intervention alone. The principal source of the savings is likely to be from reduced rehospitalizations within the 90 days of study follow-up. Hospital administrative records and insurance company data will be used to gather cost data. Additional costs of the two interventions will be estimated by costing staff time and other resources used. Cost-savings will be estimated by t-test comparisons of the mean costs for the groups; given randomization of patient assignment these will provide unbiased estimates.
Time frame: 90 & 180 after discharge from index hospitalization
Mental Health Related Quality of Life
The impact of the RED-D Collaborative Care Intervention mental health related quality of life will be ascertained using the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q) and Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) . The investigators will test whether collaborative care for depression can produce a clinically meaningful improvement in mental health related quality of life compared to those patients receiving either usual care or the RED discharge alone.
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Time frame: 30 days and 90 days after discharge from index admission