INTERACT support has little impact on hospitalizations

Skilled nursing facilities that received support on implementing a quality improvement program showed little change in hospitalization rates compared to facilities that did not receive support, recent research shows.

University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Florida Atlantic University researchers assigned 85 facilities with no prior INTERACT use into two groups: A control group, and an intervention group that received training and support for the program. 

The facilities chosen to receive training and support on implementing the Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers, or INTERACT, program showed “statistically nonsignificant” drops in hospitalization rates, 30-day readmission rates and emergency room visits, the team reported in JAMA Internal Medicine in July. 

The team sought to determine whether providing support on INTERACT could help reduce hospital admissions and trips to the emergency department.

Their findings could be attributed to several factors, including the specific nature of the support provided, and concerns of legal liability when trying to manage sicker residents within a skilled nursing setting.

The intervention group also received tools to assist staff in evaluating changes in residents’ conditions  and facilitating advance care planning.