Nurse-Led Discharge Planning and 30-Day Readmission: A Systematic Review
College of Nursing and Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Corresponding Author: Thomas J, Doctus Journal of Nursing Science.
Abstract
Unplanned readmission within 30 days is a widely used indicator of discharge quality. We systematically reviewed 34 studies covering 41,208 adult inpatients to assess whether nurse-led discharge planning reduces readmission compared with usual physician-led discharge. Pooled results favoured nurse-led planning, with the effect concentrated in medical rather than surgical wards and strongest where the intervention included a scheduled telephone follow-up within 72 hours. Heterogeneity was substantial and largely explained by whether medication reconciliation was included in the protocol. Studies rarely reported caregiver burden or cost, and we recommend both as core outcomes for future trials in this area.
Keywords
Discharge Planning; Readmission; Nurse-Led Care; Systematic Review; Care Transition; Medication Reconciliation
How to Cite
Thomas J and Fernandes L. “Nurse-Led Discharge Planning and 30-Day Readmission: A Systematic Review”. Doctus Journal of Nursing Science 2.3 (2026): 25-40.
Copyright and Licence
© 2026 Thomas J. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.