Study finds link between impairments in physical function and hospital readmission risk

Researchers from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (HRS) recently published a study that found a link between impairments in physical function and hospital readmission risk among adults 50 years of age and older.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, 17% of Medicare beneficiaries in the United States returned to the hospital within 30 days of discharge between 2016 and 2020, posing burdens on healthcare systems and patients, alike.

Physical function is a crucial indicator of underlying health, and assessing the risks for hospitalized patients who are preparing for discharge is complex, but vital. Accurately documenting a patient's physical function early and often while they're in the hospital may help ensure care is aligned with key patient and caregiver priorities for discharge."

Erin Thomas, PT, DPT, study's lead author, associate professor of practice in HRS

The study, published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine, was a systematic review that looked at 17 different studies with more than 80,000 hospitalized patients from 2010 to 2022. The data found strong associations between functional impairments, activity limitations or participation restrictions and hospital readmissions across various health conditions from general medicine to cancer and from cardiac surgery to transplant.

Examples of the physical activities measured were:

-lifting/carrying weight
-walking (quarter of a mile)
-raising arms above shoulders
-bathing, dressing
-getting in/out of bed or chair
-doing light housework
-preparing meals
-running errands/shopping

Further, the study underscores the window of opportunity during hospitalizations to identify and intervene on patients' functional impairments that may not otherwise have been identified.

"Prioritizing functional assessments for all clinicians and making this information widely available to the treatment team at the receiving end of care transitions could pay dividends for individual patients and the older adult population as a whole," said Thomas.

This study was supported by funding from the American Physical Therapy Association and a grant from the National Institute on Aging.

Marka Salsberry, PT, DPT, also from HRS, was a co-author on this study. The study also included co-authors from the Universities of Colorado, Connecticut and Maryland, Intermountain Health in Utah and Washington Hospital Healthcare System in California.