Discharge Destination

For patients discharged home, Swiss residency, older age, and lower frailty were the main positive predictors of completion. Discharge to a non-post-acute care institution was associated with higher survey completion than discharge to a facility requiring ongoing medical supervision. For patients discharged to non-home institutions, hypertension and COPD were associated with higher responsiveness. The negative effects of longer hospital stay and rehospitalisation were reduced among patients discharged to non-home settings. Home care discharge was associated with elevated readmission rates across all age and admission-type strata, ranging from 11.1% to 19.0%. Patients discharged to home care had the highest readmission rate at 17.0%, compared with 5.7% for those discharged home and 9.7% for nursing home discharge. Discharge destination strongly differentiated readmission risk across the cohort. Discharge to a non-home institution was independently associated with lower survey completion. Readmissions among cancer patients may include both clinically appropriate acute palliative admissions and potentially avoidable admissions manageable in outpatient or hospice settings.