Following the home visit, the transition coach maintained
continuity with the patient and caregiver by telephoning 3 times
during a 28-day posthospitalization discharge period. The first
telephone call generally focused on determining whether the
patient had received appropriate services (eg, whether new medications
had been obtained or durable medical equipment had
been delivered). In the 2 subsequent telephone calls, the transition
coach reviewed the patient’s progress toward goals established
during the home visit, discussed any encounters that
took place with other health care professionals, reinforced the
importance of maintaining and sharing the personal health record,
and supported the patient’s role in chronic illness selfmanagement.
Table 1 summarizes the relationship between the
4 pillars on which the intervention was based and the specific
goals and tasks for each stage of the intervention