Abstract WP185: Lack of Stroke Education at Discharge Predicts Lower Neurology Specialty Follow-Up

Introduction: The transition from hospital to home is a vulnerable period for patients recovering from stroke. This study aims to evaluate patients’ understanding of their stroke diagnosis in the post-discharge period, examine rates of follow-up with neurology and non-neurology providers, and analyze associated outcomes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records of patients discharged home after admission on a stroke service at a tertiary care hospital from October 2020 to October 2023. Patients were subsequently contacted via guideline-recommended seven-day phone call and responses were recorded. Socioeconomic and clinical characteristics were analyzed based on follow-up patterns using Chi-square analysis. Results: We identified a total of 248 patients for this review who were contacted via standard post-discharge phone call. Compared to those who ultimately did attend follow-up, those who did not attend neurology follow-up were significantly less likely to correctly state their stroke diagnosis (93.4% vs 84.7%, p < 0.05) or their stroke risk factors (83.5% vs 69.5%, p < 0.02). Additionally, a larger proportion of patients who did not attend neurology follow-up were insured by Medicaid (12/59, 20.3%) and did not speak English as their primary language (22/59, 37.3%) compared to those that did attend neurology follow-up (16/182, 8.8%; p < 0.02 and 38/182, 20.9%; p < 0.02, respectively). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that patients with limited understanding of their stroke diagnosis are less likely to attend follow-up with neurology. Prior results from the same cohort showed that these patients may have worse outcomes, including higher mortality rates. Further research is needed to develop interventions that improve stroke education and neurology follow-up rates, with the goal of reducing emergency department visits, hospital readmissions, and mortality in patients with stroke.