Key result
Postoperative digital health interventions reduce readmissions ~15% vs standard care, driven by active clinician involvement.
Why the study?
Recovery after non-cardiac surgery increasingly occurs at home, where clinical deterioration may go unrecognized. Digital health interventions may extend postoperative surveillance beyond discharge, but vary widely in components and clinician involvement, prompting an evaluation of their association with readmission and other outcomes.
Do postoperative digital health interventions reduce hospital readmission compared with standard care in adults recovering after non-cardiac surgery?
Meta-Analysis (n=7,494)
Do postoperative digital health interventions reduce hospital readmission compared with standard care in adults recovering after non-cardiac surgery?
Postoperative digital health interventions after non-cardiac surgery are associated with fewer hospital readmissions, ER visits, and major complications, particularly when clinicians actively review and act on patient-submitted data, though evidence certainty is low.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
May support active clinician involvement in postoperative digital tools to reduce readmissions after non-cardiac surgery; extends meta-analysis of 30 RCTs and 8 observational studies.
BACKGROUND: Recovery after non-cardiac surgery increasingly occurs at home, where clinical deterioration may go unrecognized. Digital health interventions may extend postoperative surveillance beyond discharge, but vary widely in components and clinician involvement. We evaluated their association with readmission and other outcomes. METHODS: Five databases were searched from inception to December 12, 2025, for prospective randomized and observational studies comparing digital health interventions with standard care in adults after non-cardiac surgery. Readmission was the primary outcome; all-cause and major complications, emergency room (ER) visits, length of stay (LOS), and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were secondary. Interventions were grouped by whether a clinician reviewed patient-submitted data and had the ability to take action (active clinician involvement). Random-effects models pooled risk ratios (RR), mean differences (MD), and standardized mean differences (SMD). p values were adjusted for multiple comparisons (Benjamini-Hochberg). RESULTS: In 38 studies (30 randomized, 8 observational; 7,494 patients), digital health interventions were associated with fewer readmissions (17 studies, n=3,944; RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73-0.99, adjusted p=0.045), ER visits (RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.63-0.97), and major complications (RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.60-0.94), but not all-cause complications (RR 0.92, 95% CI 0.79-1.08) or LOS (MD -0.04 days, 95% CI -0.26 to 0.18). Pain and anxiety were lower and functional status, quality-of-life, and satisfaction scores higher (absolute SMD 0.41-0.69). Readmission risk was lower with active clinician involvement (RR 0.76, 95% CI 0.64-0.92) but not without it (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.78-1.18; interaction p=0.029). Heterogeneity in interventions, cohorts, and outcomes was substantial (PROM I² 50-97%). CONCLUSIONS: Digital health interventions were associated with fewer readmissions, ER visits, major complications, and better PROMs, but not fewer all-cause complications or shorter LOS. The readmission association was concentrated in studies with active clinician involvement. Heterogeneity was substantial and certainty of evidence low to very low.
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Elganga et al. (2026) conducted a meta-analysis in Postoperative recovery after non-cardiac surgery (n=7,494). Postoperative digital health interventions vs. Standard care was evaluated on Readmission (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73-0.99, p=0.045). Postoperative digital health interventions reduced hospital readmissions compared with standard care (RR 0.85, 95% CI 0.73-0.99, adjusted p=0.045), driven by active clinician involvement.
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