Transitional Care

Transitional care encompasses a broad range of services and environments designed to promote the safe and timely passage of patients between levels of health care and across care settings. Highquality transitional care is especially important for older adults with multiple chronic conditions and complex therapeutic regimens, as well as for their family caregivers. These patients typically receive care from many providers and move frequently within health care settings. A growing body of evidence suggests that they are particularly vulnerable to breakdowns in care and thus have the greatest need for transitional care services. Poor “handoff” of these older adults and their family caregivers from hospital to home has been linked to adverse events, low satisfaction with care and high rehospitalization rates.