Objective: Hospital readmissions impose considerable physical and psychological hardships on patients and represent a high, but possibly preventable, cost for insurers and hospitals alike. The objective of this study was to identify patient characteristics associated with 30-day readmission among persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) using a statewide administrative database and to characterize the movement of patients between facilities.
Design: Retrospective cohort analysis of HIV-infected individuals in New York State using a comprehensive, all-payer database.
Setting: All hospitals in New York State.
Participants: HIV-infected adults admitted to a medical service in 2012. PLWH identified using International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 diagnosis codes 042 and V08.
Results: Of 23,544 index hospitalizations, 21.8% (5121) resulted in readmission. Multivariable predictors of readmission included insurance status, housing instability, psychoses, multiple comorbid chronic conditions, substance use, and past inpatient and emergency department visits. Over 30% of readmissions occurred at a different facility than that of the initial hospitalization.
Conclusion: A number of patient characteristics were independently associated with hospital readmission within 30 days. Behavioral health disorders and comorbid conditions may be the strongest predictors of readmission in PLWH. Readmissions, especially those in urban areas, often result in fragmented care which may compromise the quality of care and result in harmful discontinuity of medical treatment.