Authors (including presenting author) :
Cheng SY(1), Tang WK(1), Wong CL(1), Ng YB(1), Tsang WY(1), Sim TC(1), Sha KY(1)
Affiliation :
(1) Department of Medical & Geriatric, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Elderly are not aware that influenza (flu) related complications can increase hospitalization or even mortality. Flu education is essential for patients and their families to understand the rationales and therefore comply with flu prevention as needed. Medical Early Discharge (MED) Program is tailored for senior with flu during hospitalization. In order to enhance the existing discharge planning services, this program is responsive to influenza prevention and to facilitate the effectiveness of utilizing community health care services.
Objectives :
This program addressed the gaps in care for elderly in a non-hospital environment to complete their recovery process, reduce the chance of influenza outbreak and prevent flu complication. It aims to reduce the chance of hospitalization and administrative burden.
Methodology :
The program was implemented in 14 medical wards at UCH from 07Jan2019 - 28Mar2019 and we partnered with Information Technology department to retrieve an electronic list of daily flu patients. Elderly patients (≥60 years-old) with confirmed influenza (except old age home residence) are recruited. Intervention: 1. Individualized assessment and planning for elderly - Identified the needs of elderly and caregivers and provided appropriate transitional care services, such as case manager (CM), home support team (HST) services, telephone support and hotline services. 2. Face-to-face interaction with patients and relatives - Educated flu prevention and introduced existing community health services, such as the General Outpatient Clinic (GOPC) Telephone Appointment System and Patient Support Call Center (PSCC) services.
Result & Outcome :
245 elderly were enrolled with an average of 80 years-old. The median length of stay was 5 days. Result shows 23(9.4%) deaths during hospitalization and 214(87.3%) were discharged to home, of which 43(20%) received CM/HST services. 34(15.3%) patients readmitted ≤28 days. Pre & post health education surveys have showed that the knowledge of preventing flu has increased from 55% to 100%. Influenza vaccination rates also increased from 31% in 2018/2019 to 40% in 2019/2020. The knowledge of using the GOPC Telephone Appointment System services has increased from 29% to 99.5%. 74 patients receiving PSCC services; increased from 19% to 100% expressed an understanding of services. Overall, 99% of patients claimed that the program was useful and informative and 99.6% of patients have requested to continue with this program. Conclusion: The results indicate the consequences of influenza on elderly; these include high mortality, prolong hospitalization and increased demands of community service support. Targeted measures of the MED program enable people to prevent and detect influenza complications early, effectively reducing hospitalization rates
