Is your discharge planning process really effective?

To evaluate the effectiveness of its discharge planning process, Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis distributes a survey to 200 patients each week, asking them whether they had a better understanding of their illness at discharge than when they entered the hospital, whether hospital staff prepared the patient for proper home care, and whether the patient felt he or she was sent home too quickly. The hospital's Patient Learning Center also randomly calls 10 to 15 patients each month to find out how they're managing their care after discharge. To ensure that patients leave the hospital with the skills they need to succeed during the next phase of their care, experts recommend testing patients before they leave by challenging them to perform the skills they will need to use. Practicing in the hospital gives case managers the chance to evaluate the patient's level of understanding and problem-solving ability.