A Multidisciplinary Approach to Improving the Pediatric Discharge Process

• Published in: Journal of nursing care quality Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 206 - 212
• Main Authors: Jubic, Kayla, Dick, Emily, Moelber, Carrie
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc 01-07-2022; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
• Subjects: Continuity of care; Discharge planning; Families & family life; Health education; Multidisciplinary teams; Nursing care; Patient satisfaction; Pediatric nursing; Pediatrics; Quality of care
• ISSN: 1057-3631; 1550-5065
• DOI: 10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000608

A collaborative and multidisciplinary shared responsibility with providing discharge information to pediatric patients/families can support successful reassimilation to life posthospitalization.
An analysis of the current discharge process at an urban pediatric hospital identified variations in discharge practices and instructions.
A multidisciplinary taskforce used the Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology to standardize the discharge process including creating a discharge template, adopting a new education platform, enhancing the electronic health record, and implementing strategies to improve discharge.
There was a reduction in 7-day readmission rate from preintervention 4.58 to postintervention for 4 consecutive quarters of 3.92, 4.20, 3.44, and 3.41, respectively. Percentile ranking and top box scores of the patient satisfaction measure of discharge preparation increased from 12th-62nd to 65th-95th percentile postimplementation and 81% to 88%, respectively.
A local improvement initiative related to standardization of the discharge process resulted in a reduction in 7-day readmission rate and improved patient satisfaction scores.