Effects of routinely collected health information system variables on the readmission of patients with type 2 diabetes

OBJECTIVES: This research explores the association between variables routinely collected in a health information system and the readmission of patients with type 2 diabetes within 30 days of discharge. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at King Fahd Hospital of the University (KFHU) in Al-Khobar, KSA. The study population comprised patients with type 2 diabetes who were admitted to the hospital from January 2016 to November 2016. Data were obtained from the hospital's information system at KFHU. The association between the readmission of patients with type 2 diabetes and routinely collected health information system variables such as demographics, type of diabetes, length of stay, and discharge type were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 497 cases met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 31 (6.2%) cases were readmitted within 30 days. Type 2 diabetes was the only variable found to be significantly associated with readmission within 30 days (χ(2) (1, N = 497) = 6.116, p = 0.0134). Diabetes type (p = 0.0133) and discharge type (p = 0.0403) were the only variables that displayed significance utilizing a logistic regression model. CONCLUSION: Overall, the routinely collected demographic, diagnostic, and administrative variables were found to be poor predictors of 30-day readmission for type 2 diabetes at the institution studied. Nonetheless, the only significant variables in the prediction of 30-day readmission were diabetes type and discharge type. To determine the predictors of readmission, it is recommended that future studies include height and weight to the routinely collected health information system variables. We also suggest that future studies be based on data collected over several years or on pooled data collected from several hospitals.