The impacts of the combination service model of cardiac rehabilitation on patient outcomes: evidence from a hospital experience

This research is to test whether the combination model (CM) (combining cardiac rehabilitation (CR) with other cardiovascular medical services) impact patients' readmissions, physical and psychological outcomes. We found that CM significantly enhances patients' exercise ability and psychological condition and reduces readmission rates after discharged from the hospital, compared to patients that are admitted to non-CM. Departments' physical resources weaken the impact of CM on patients' physical outcomes and readmission rates while increasing patients' psychological conditions. Human resources strengthen the impact of CM on patients' readmission rates while reducing the impact on patients' physical outcomes. Our results provide empirical evidence for hospital resource constraints puzzle and reallocation. These results provide a possibility of introducing CM as a way to deal with CR implementing challenges. What we already knowThe impact of service models (such as healthcare integrations) on hospital- and patient-level outcomes has been empirically verified.Scholars demonstrate that cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can improve secondary prevention outcomes with comprehensive risk reduction and long-term care, but there are still barriers and challenges to implement CR.Prior studies show hospital resources have significant impacts on practices implementing, patients' satisfaction and readmission rates.What this article addsWe extend the research on service providing field. Patients choose combination model (CM), which significantly enhances their exercise ability and psychological condition. Their readmission rates are also reduced.Higher departments' physical resources diminish the reduction of patients' admission rates, and human resources strengthen the reduction of patients' readmission rates.These results suggest that CM benefits patients' outcomes, and department resources favor certain outcomes.