Disparities After Discharge: The Association of Limited English Proficiency and Post-Discharge Patient Reported Issues

Background The transition from hospital to home is a vulnerable period for all patients, particularly for those who have limited English proficiency (LEP). Methods The research team retrospectively studied adults discharged home from a hospital in 2018–2019 to determine the association of LEP with (1) reach of a care transitions outreach program phone call (automated call within three days after discharge or a subsequent manual phone call) and (2) postdischarge issues reported on the phone calls. All results were adjusted for measured confounders; associations using predicted probabilities and average marginal effects were described. Results A total of 13,860 patients were included, and 11.3% had LEP. After adjustment, the program reached most patients regardless of LEP status; automated calls were more likely to reach English proficient patients (81.1% vs. 75.6%, p Conclusion Although reach was high for the care transitions program, among patients with LEP, important disparities exist in patient-reported postdischarge issues. These results indicate the need for better discharge processes that focus on communication quality and health equity.