Abstract
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Objectives: To describe morbidity and multimorbidity patterns among adults readmitted to an Australian regional health service, in terms of occurrence of the same and different morbidities at index admission and readmission. Methods: This cohort study used hospital admissions data for patients admitted between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2016 to estimate proportions of unplanned readmissions (���early��� within 30 days and ���late��� within 1���6 months) with the same and different morbidities as the index admission. Readmission rates were estimated by selected sociodemographic, admission and diagnostic characteristics. Results: The majority of early and late readmissions were in different diagnostic groups and for different primary morbidities to the index admission. Only 38.8% of readmissions were in the same major diagnostic group as the index admission and 18.4% in the same Adjacent Diagnosis-Related Group. Twenty one percent of admitted patients were readmitted within six months, with this increasing to 35.3% among multimorbid patients. Conclusion: With increasing prevalence of multimorbidity, particularly among those at increased risk of readmission, it is essential to step away from a single disease focus in the design of both hospital avoidance and chronic disease management programmes. Holistic interventions and strategies that address multiple chronic conditions are required.