The purpose of the authors in this article is to present a review of experimental research assessing whether transitional care is effective in preventing older adults from rehospitalization in the United States. The prevalence of rehospitalization among Medicare beneficiaries is high, but a considerable portion of rehospitalizations could have been prevented and decreased. One strategy which can prevent these unplanned rehospitalizations is transitional care. Older adults age 65 and over, in particular, are considered to be potential beneficiaries of transitional care. Studies examining the effects of transitional care were identified through electronic bibliographic databases and manual searches from inception through April 2011, limited to English language. A total of nine experimental studies meeting the inclusionary criteria were reviewed. Seven of nine studies detected positive effects of transitional care in preventing older adults from rehospitalization, although these effects varied at different follow-up periods. Based on this narrative review it may be concluded that the published experimental studies support the hypothesis that transitional care generally prevents rehospitalization among the elderly. Additional studies involving more traditionally under-represented clients, and with longer follow-up periods are needed.
Keywords: Medicare costs; Transitional care; randomized controlled trials; rehospitalization; systematic review.