Within the local context in Montréal, the elderly population makes up more than 50% of patient hours in emergency department. To meet ministerial targets for length of stay, our health technology assessment unit was requested to conduct an umbrella review to evaluate interventions aimed at reducing health care services use for this population. Within that context, our unit was asked to further evaluate the efficacy of advance practice nurse (APN)-led interventions. The objective of this rapid response was to summarize the scientific literature for APN-led interventions on hospital services use.

An umbrella review using the PRISMA statement was conducted to review the scientific literature. Systematic searches were conducted in five databases, along with a grey literature search. Two reviewers performed the study selection, quality assessment using the ROBIS, and data extraction. The primary studies within the selected systematic reviews were extracted by two reviewers and a meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the efficacy of APN-involved in discharge planning and transitional care.

From the twenty-seven systematic reviews identified in the literature search, four reported data on APN-led interventions. In all, sixteen primary studies were included in the four systematic reviews. While most studies focused on transitional care, there was heterogeneity in the components of the interventions implemented. At six months post-discharge, a reduction of forty-one percent in relative risk of readmission was observed with APN-led discharge planning and transitional care with patient education, follow-up and services coordination. Studies with fewer components reported less significant results than studies with comprehensive discharge planning and transitional care. The few APN-led primary care studies identified in the systematic reviews reported inconsistent results.

APN-led comprehensive discharge planning and transitional care can reduce hospital readmission rate. Several components were identified and should be considered in the discharge planning and transitional care.

According to our local data, elderly patients accounted for 14 percent of the population yet, represent 58 percent of hospitalization and, they are more likely to return after discharge. These patients are more likely to return to the hospital following discharge. In order to meet ministerial target for length of stay of patient on a stretcher, the UETMIS-SS was requested to evaluate interventions aiming to improve the fluidity of patient trajectories in the acute care services. The objective of this health technology assessment is to evaluate the effectiveness of discharge planning and transitional care interventions aiming at reducing the readmission rate of the elderly.

An umbrella review was conducted following the PRISMA statement to summarize the scientific evidence. The search was conducted in five databases along with the grey literature search. Two reviewers independently performed the study selection, the quality assessment and the data extraction. To better illustrate the activities and the healthcare professionals (HCP) involved in the interventions, an analytical framework was developed. Results were summarized in a narrative synthesis. The contextual and experiential data were collected through interviews with HCP and directorates from different settings. The level of evidence was and a committee was then held to elaborate the recommendations.

In the nine systematic reviews included in the narrative synthesis, three models were identified: Post-discharge planning and follow-up by the same HCP was established to be effective in reducing the readmission rate. Discharge planning interventions with follow-up by non-specific HCP have been shown to be promising, while discharge planning without follow-up after the hospital discharge has shown to be ineffective in reducing the readmission rate.

An individualized discharge plan, coordination of services and follow-up performed by the same HCP is established to be effective in reducing readmission rate.