Reducing utilisation of hospital services by case management: a randomised controlled trial

A 12-month randomised controlled trial was conducted in Hong Kong to evaluate the effectiveness of case management provided to a group of home-dwelling, frail elderly patients (control group: n = 47; intervention group: n = 45) in terms of utilisation of hospital services by these patients. Significant reductions (significance at P </= 0.05) in mean total number of hospital bed-days (P < 0.001), mean total episodes of hospital admissions (P < 0.001), and mean total number of attendances at the outpatient department (P < 0.05) were observed when the baseline and post-intervention differences between the intervention and control groups were compared. The study demonstrated that utilisation of hospital services could be significantly reduced when a group of elderly patients and their caregivers received timely interventions and appropriate services through case management services.