@article{ref1,
title="The return on investment of postdischarge follow-up calls for suicidal ideation or deliberate self-harm",
journal="Psychiatric services",
year="2014",
author="Richardson, John S. and Mark, Tami L. and McKeon, Richard",
volume="65",
number="8",
pages="1012-1019",
abstract="OBJECTIVE Transitions of care are critical for individuals at risk of suicide. This study determined the return on investment (ROI) for providing postdischarge follow-up calls to patients at risk of suicide who are discharged from a hospital or an emergency department. <br><br>METHODS Claims data were from the 2006-2011 Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database and Multi-State Medicaid Database. Cost estimates were from eight call centers that provide postdischarge follow-up calls. The ROI was estimated for the 30 days after discharge and was calculated from a payer's perspective (return gained for every $1 invested). One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were used to examine the influence of variations of ROI model inputs. <br><br>RESULTS Under base case assumptions, the estimated ROI was $1.76 for commercial insurance and $2.43 for Medicaid for patients discharged from a hospital and $1.70 for commercial insurance and $2.05 for Medicaid for those discharged from an emergency department. Variation in the effect size of postdischarge contacts on reducing readmission had the largest effect on the ROI, producing a range from $0 to $4.11. The ROI would be greater than $1 for both payers and across both discharge settings as long as postdischarge contact could reduce readmission by at least 13.3%. Sensitivity analyses indicated a 77% probability (commercial) and an 88% probability (Medicaid) that the ROI would be greater than $1 among hospital discharges; the probabilities among emergency department discharges were 74% (commercial) and 82% (Medicaid). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS The study supports the business case for payers, particularly Medicaid, to invest in postdischarge follow-up calls.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1075-2730",
doi="10.1176/appi.ps.201300196",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201300196"
}