Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,234 studies31 sourcesUpdated 35 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy

Proportion of patients admitted to rural and remote hospitals that experience a 30-day medication-related readmission: a retrospective cohort study

  • Kingston Yeung1
  • Gi Kon Nam1
  • Klaudia Englezos1
  • Aagam Bordia2
  • Stephen Carter1
  • Rebekah Moles1
  • Hana Amer1
  • Manya Angley3
  • Charley Budgeon4,5
  • Brett Chambers6
  • Jenny Chen1
  • Deirdre Criddle7
11 more authors
  • Rohan A. Elliott8,9
  • Tara Emadi1
  • Cristen Fleming6
  • Deborah Hawthorne10
  • Linda Krogh6
  • Anna Packer6
  • Simon Poon11
  • Frank M. Sanfilippo4,5
  • Paul Yates12,13
  • Jerry Yik14
  • Jonathan Penm1,15
15 affiliations
  1. 1Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Pharmacy, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
  2. 2Department of Pharmacy, The Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW Australia
  3. 3School of Health and Clinical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA Australia
  4. 4School of Population and Global Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA Australia
  5. 5Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Centre, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA Australia
  6. 6Western NSW Local Health District, Dubbo, NSW Australia
  7. 7Complex Needs Coordination Team and Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital Pharmacy Department, Sir Charles Gairdner, Nedlands, WA Australia
  8. 8Department of Pharmacy, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC Australia
  9. 9Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, VIC Australia
  10. 10Deborah Hawthorne Consultancy, Wangaratta, VIC Australia
  11. 11Faculty of Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW Australia
  12. 12Department of Geriatric Medicine, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC Australia
  13. 13Department of Medicine, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC Australia
  14. 14Advanced Pharmacy Australia, Melbourne, VIC Australia
  15. 15Department of Pharmacy, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW Australia
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Introduction: Medication-related readmissions are a significant and preventable cause of patient harm. Patients living in rural and remote areas may face inequitable access to healthcare and fragmented continuity of care, increasing their vulnerability to medication-related harm. Despite this, the burden and drivers of medication-related readmissions in these settings remain poorly understood. Determining the current burden and identifying factors associated with medication-related readmissions is essential to inform targeted strategies to improve medication safety.

Aim: To determine the proportion of adult patients with a medication-related readmission within 30 days of discharge from rural and remote hospitals, and to identify factors potentially associated with these readmissions.

Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records of adults admitted to rural and remote hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, between June 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023. Readmissions within 30 days were assessed for medication-related causes using the AT-HARM10, a validated 10-item tool based on admission notes, medication lists, inpatient pathology results, and discharge summaries. Patient demographics, comorbidities and admission details were extracted. Comorbidity burden was calculated using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Medication lists were based on medications charted 12 h before discharge. Univariable logistic regression was performed to explore factors associated with 30-day medication-related readmissions, with results reported as unadjusted odds ratios (uOR).

Results: Of the 2220 patients admitted during the study period, 6% (n = 133) experienced a 30-day readmission, of which 22.5% (n = 30) were medication-related. Overall, 1.4% of all admitted patients experienced a 30-day medication-related readmission. Older age (uOR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01–1.07), higher CCI (uOR 1.22; 95% CI 1.04–1.44), a greater number of regular medications (uOR 1.07 per additional medication; 95% CI 1.01–1.14), and insulin use (uOR 2.80; 95% CI 1.06–7.42) were associated with medication-related readmission.

Conclusion: In rural and remote hospitals, a small but clinically important proportion of patients experienced a medication-related readmission within 30 days of discharge. Unadjusted analysis identified that older age, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and insulin use were associated with increased risk. Larger studies are needed to validate these findings and evaluate strategies to reduce medication-related harm in rural and remote populations.

Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-026-02228-7.

Related

  1. Machine Learning Prediction of 90-Day Readmission and Mortality in General Internal Medicine: A Retrospective Cohort Study
    Laila Al Wahaibi, Said Al Jaadi, Mohammed Al-Hinai +1
    Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)Peer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  2. Impact of clinical pharmacist interventions in psychiatric hospitals on clinical and medication-related outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis
    Matej Stuhec, Kaja Balasko, Anteja Gorjan Gazdag +2
    Frontiers in PharmacologyPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textPharmacology & toxicologyCrossrefEurope PMC
  3. Clinic-Based Proportion of Psoriatic Arthritis and HLA-B27 Distribution in Korean Psoriasis Patients: A Retrospective Study.
    Yeon Woo Jung, Shinwon Hwang, Tae-Gyun Kim
    Annals of dermatologyPeer-reviewedCC BY-NCFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC
  4. Multidisciplinary nurse-led transitional care and 30-day readmission in patients with heart failure: a retrospective cohort study
    Qiang Fan, Han Liu, Yang Yu +3
    Frontiers in Cardiovascular MedicinePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Cardiovascular medicineCrossref
  5. Association between metabolic overweight/obesity phenotypes and readmission risk in patients with Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP): a national retrospective study.
    Fuxin Xu, Tongxin Wang, Lingquan Meng +4
    Annals of hematologyPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMCDOAJ

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{yeung2026proportion,
  title = {{Proportion of patients admitted to rural and remote hospitals that experience a 30-day medication-related readmission: a retrospective cohort study}},
  author = {Kingston Yeung and Gi Kon Nam and Klaudia Englezos and Aagam Bordia and Stephen Carter and Rebekah Moles and Hana Amer and Manya Angley and Charley Budgeon and Brett Chambers and Jenny Chen and Deirdre Criddle and Rohan A. Elliott and Tara Emadi and Cristen Fleming and Deborah Hawthorne and Linda Krogh and Anna Packer and Simon Poon and Frank M. Sanfilippo and Paul Yates and Jerry Yik and Jonathan Penm},
  journal = {International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1007/s11096-026-02228-7},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-026-02228-7},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Proportion of patients admitted to rural and remote hospitals that experience a 30-day medication-related readmission: a retrospective cohort study
AU  - Kingston Yeung
AU  - Gi Kon Nam
AU  - Klaudia Englezos
AU  - Aagam Bordia
AU  - Stephen Carter
AU  - Rebekah Moles
AU  - Hana Amer
AU  - Manya Angley
AU  - Charley Budgeon
AU  - Brett Chambers
AU  - Jenny Chen
AU  - Deirdre Criddle
AU  - Rohan A. Elliott
AU  - Tara Emadi
AU  - Cristen Fleming
AU  - Deborah Hawthorne
AU  - Linda Krogh
AU  - Anna Packer
AU  - Simon Poon
AU  - Frank M. Sanfilippo
AU  - Paul Yates
AU  - Jerry Yik
AU  - Jonathan Penm
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
JO  - International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
DO  - 10.1007/s11096-026-02228-7
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-026-02228-7
AB  - Introduction: Medication-related readmissions are a significant and preventable cause of patient harm. Patients living in rural and remote areas may face inequitable access to healthcare and fragmented continuity of care, increasing their vulnerability to medication-related harm. Despite this, the burden and drivers of medication-related readmissions in these settings remain poorly understood. Determining the current burden and identifying factors associated with medication-related readmissions is essential to inform targeted strategies to improve medication safety.  Aim: To determine the proportion of adult patients with a medication-related readmission within 30 days of discharge from rural and remote hospitals, and to identify factors potentially associated with these readmissions.  Method: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using medical records of adults admitted to rural and remote hospitals in New South Wales, Australia, between June 1, 2022 and August 31, 2023. Readmissions within 30 days were assessed for medication-related causes using the AT-HARM10, a validated 10-item tool based on admission notes, medication lists, inpatient pathology results, and discharge summaries. Patient demographics, comorbidities and admission details were extracted. Comorbidity burden was calculated using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). Medication lists were based on medications charted 12 h before discharge. Univariable logistic regression was performed to explore factors associated with 30-day medication-related readmissions, with results reported as unadjusted odds ratios (uOR).  Results: Of the 2220 patients admitted during the study period, 6% (n = 133) experienced a 30-day readmission, of which 22.5% (n = 30) were medication-related. Overall, 1.4% of all admitted patients experienced a 30-day medication-related readmission. Older age (uOR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01–1.07), higher CCI (uOR 1.22; 95% CI 1.04–1.44), a greater number of regular medications (uOR 1.07 per additional medication; 95% CI 1.01–1.14), and insulin use (uOR 2.80; 95% CI 1.06–7.42) were associated with medication-related readmission.  Conclusion: In rural and remote hospitals, a small but clinically important proportion of patients experienced a medication-related readmission within 30 days of discharge. Unadjusted analysis identified that older age, multimorbidity, polypharmacy and insulin use were associated with increased risk. Larger studies are needed to validate these findings and evaluate strategies to reduce medication-related harm in rural and remote populations.  Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-026-02228-7.
SN  - 2210-7703
SN  - 2210-7711
ER  -