Study Links Discharge Planning to Readmissions

6 Ways to Reduce Readmissions; 7 Solutions

A study, “Discharge Process Challenges of an Academic Vascular Surgery Service: A Qualitative Study,” by Elizabeth R. Doss, et al.; published in Research in Nursing & Health lays unexpected readmissions to hospitals squarely at the door of the discharge planning process. Although the study focused on patients who underwent vascular procedures, the problems identified likely apply to all patients discharged from acute care hospitals.

The goal of the study was to examine factors in the discharge planning process that can be improved to reduce preventable hospital readmissions.

The study is based on eight focus groups that included nurses, physicians, discharge planning staff, and patients. It identified areas of possible change to the discharge planning process to reduce instances of unplanned hospital readmissions.

This information is useful to know:

• How discharge planning can be improved.
• How discharge planners can help prevent readmissions.
• Six key areas of improvement.
• Seven proposed solutions.

Readmissions negatively impact health outcomes and can cause additional stress for caregivers and healthcare providers. The study identified six areas of possible change to the discharge planning process to reduce instances of unplanned hospital readmissions as follows:

1. Communication deficiencies about contacts for patients who had follow-up concerns.
2. Staffing shortages.
3. Lack of time to properly educate staff about discharge procedures.
4. Difficulties by patients with making follow-up appointments.
5. Difficulties with receiving prescriptions and medications or wound care needed post-surgery.
6. Lack of time to adequately educate both patients and family caregivers about post-operative care and to answer their questions.

7 Proposed Solutions Included in the Study

• Use of technology to improve communication
• Developing tailored solutions to fix day-to-day barriers experienced by key stakeholders
• Use of specialized coordinators
• Caregiver support
• Use of adaptive strategies outside current discharge processes
• Multifaceted approach that incorporates standardized discharge processes
• Informal problem-solving strategies

The results of this study again point to the crucial role that discharge planners/case managers play in patients’ recoveries. When patients are admitted to post-acute providers following discharge from hospitals without adequate preparation, patients, their families, and post-acute providers are more likely to experience adverse results. Now is the time to fix it!

Copyright © 2024 Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. All rights reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced in any form without the advance written permission of the author.