Discharge Process Optimization

Abstract

As the demands of the nurse become increased with higher acuity and documentation requirements, the delivery of discharge instructions is often one of the most, and at times, only, formal education opportunities between the nurse and the patient. It is imperative to modify the discharge process to ensure patients have the ability to confidently care for themselves after they leave the hospital. The aim of this project was to create a nursing discharge workflow that meets the educational needs of the patients. This project was a quality improvement project designed to change the nursing workflow to provide a better discharge process for patients. Staff were educated on the process by creating an interactive module. The conclusion was that the discharge process workflow was effective in increasing patient satisfaction scores related to the discharge process, however ineffective in increasing overall patient satisfaction scores for the organization. The two main limitations were related to the data collected and the impact on nursing staff. The NRC patient satisfaction data is not specific to discharge process. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges for healthcare workers nation-wide during the timeframe this project was implemented. It is important for healthcare to keep adapting to create a discharge process that engages patients and allows them a better understanding of their plan of care. The results suggest that implementing a standard discharge process may increase aspects of patient satisfaction, however will likely not drive overall satisfaction of the organization