[Answered]: A hospital’s Chief Operating Officer asks you, as…

A hospital’s Chief Operating Officer asks you, as a healthcare administrator, to recommend an evidence-based strategy to reduce hospital readmissions. You find several individual studies with mixed results, and you want the strongest possible evidence to guide a system-wide decision. Which source should you seek out to provide the highest level of methodological rigor and the most reliable summary of the research? A. A narrative review describing general trends in readmissions across a few hospitals B. A single observational study showing a correlation between follow-up calls and reduced readmissions C. A randomized controlled trial from one hospital comparing two discharge planning approaches D. A systematic review or meta-analysis synthesizing results across multiple high-quality studies