Why Discharge Information Matters

Posted: Wed, Sep 3, 2014 15:29

According to a report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, discharge satisfaction is not always guaranteed. The report concluded that patients did not understand their discharge instructions, care instructions were too general, new prescriptions posed special challenges, PCPs were missing from the picture, there was limited support at home, and patients had chronic health conditions they were not educated about. The point is this: while this might not reflect your quality outcomes, what kind of experience do you want for your patients? How great do you want to be?

Consider This:

Let’s begin with a few questions.

Do you find it hard to bring importance to this task?

Do you feel responsible for a patient’s care at home?

Do you ensure the family is aware of safety concerns because they are going to be the care provider?

Do you identify time critical actions? (Do they have a PCP to follow up with, a CT scan to schedule in two weeks?)

Do you wish the case manager would just do it all?

Well, that’s not going to happen. You play a critical role. Like Erma Bombeck said: “Getting out of a hospital is a lot like resigning from a book club; you’re not out of it until the computer says you’re out of it.” It’s your job to make sure that patients aren’t released until they have the support and resources necessary for a safe, effective recovery at home.

The Discharge Information HCAHPS Threshold currently is at 84%. Patients rate a 4, or “Always,” 84% of the time. Do you know what your current Discharge Information score is?  If you don’t know, it might be a good idea to find out.Owners and champions of this domain are your leadership: CEOs, CNOs, CNAs, etc. The staff domain owners include nurses, case managers, and the entire collaborative team.

I cannot emphasize enough how important a successful discharge process is - everything that is being done at your hospital is transparent and available to the public.

The Take Away:

Communication is the ^#1 predictor of HCAHPS success, the ^#1 reason for patient non-compliance, the ^#1 reason 50% of meds are taken incorrectly, the ^#1 cause of preventable medical errors, the ^#1 cause of malpractice litigation, and the ^#1 cause of readmission.

Looks like we need to be really, really good at communicating, especially at discharge – mistakes can have a huge price tag.

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