Patient quality of life in the Mayo Clinic Care Transitions program: a survey study.

BACKGROUND: Transitional care programs are common interventions aimed at reducing medical complications and associated readmissions for patients recently discharged from the hospital. While organizations strive to reduce readmissions, another important related metric is patient quality of life (QoL).

AIMS: To compare the relationship between QoL in patients enrolled in the Mayo Clinic Care Transitions (MCCT) program versus usual care, and to determine if QoL changed in MCCT participants between baseline and 1-year follow-up.

METHODS: A baseline survey was mailed to MCCT enrollees in March 2013. Those who completed a baseline survey were sent a follow-up survey 1 year later. A cross-sectional survey of usual care participants was mailed in November 2013. We included in our analysis 199 participants (83 in the MCCT and 116 in usual care) aged over 60 years with multiple comorbidities and receiving primary care. Primary outcomes were self-rated QoL; secondary outcomes included self-reported general, physical, and mental health. Intra- and intergroup comparisons of patients were evaluated using Pearson's chi-squared analysis.

RESULTS: MCCT participants had more comorbidities and higher elder risk assessment scores than those receiving usual care. At baseline, 74% of MCCT participants reported responses of good-to-excellent QoL compared to 64% after 1 year (P=0.16). Between MCCT and usual care, there was no significant difference in self-reported QoL (P=0.21). Between baseline and follow-up in MCCT patients, and compared to usual care, there were no significant differences in self-reported general, physical, or mental health.

CONCLUSION: We detected no difference over time in QoL between MCCT patients and those receiving usual care, and a nonsignificant QoL decline in MCCT participants after 1 year. Progression of chronic disease may overwhelm any QoL improvement attributable to the MCCT intervention. The MCCT interventions may blunt expected declines in QoL, producing concordant responses among sicker MCCT patients and healthier usual care participants.