TIMELY MUNICIPALITY REHABILITATION AFTER HOSPITALISATION REDUCES READMISSION AND EARLY MORTALITY

Firstly, the study explores the association between timely initiation of rehabilitation and 90-day and 365-day all-cause acute readmission and secondly, 90-day and 365-day all-cause mortality in a cohort of Odense Municipality residents. The registry-based observational cohort study investigates acute contacts at Odense University Hospital from 2015 to 2020. Descriptive statistics, Cox regression and cumulative incidence rates were used for analysis. The study utilizes initiated rehabilitation referrals within 60 days from Odense Municipality residents. In total, 7,377 rehabilitation plans were initiated, including 5051 (68.5%) within the legal timeframe. Overall, timely initiation of rehabilitation within the legal timeframe was associated with a significantly reduced risk of 90-day all-cause acute readmission (Adjusted HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.74-0.90).In the adjusted analysis, timely initiation was also significantly associated with reduced risk in 365-day all-cause acute readmission (HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.83-0.97). Each week of delay in initiation of rehabilitation was associated with an increased risk of readmission (HR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.07). Further, timely initiation of rehabilitation was associated with a significant reduction in the risk of 365-day all-cause mortality (HR 0.74, 95% CI 0.61-0.89). Timely initiation of rehabilitation within the legal timeframe of 7 or 14 days was associated with significantly reduced risk of 90-day and 365-day all-cause acute readmission. Timely initiation of rehabilitation was also associated with significant reduction in the risk of 365-day all-cause mortality.