Extended care referral after hospital discharge.

The purpose of this study was to describe the influence of selected organizational and medical factors on communication between hospitals and extended care facilities (ECF) in the referral of elderly clients following discharge from acute care. Using a tool with previously established reliability and validity, 455 closed records of referral were purposively selected and reviewed for the amount and type of information an ECF received upon referral, as well as selected organizational and medical factors. Hospitals transferred approximately three-fourths of the patient care data recommended in the literature. Information contained in an ECF referral consisted primarily of background and medical data, with some nursing care data and limited psychosocial data. More information-rich referrals were generated by very large hospitals and by specialty care units. Similarly, proprietary ECFs received more patient care data than their not-for-profit counterparts. Research concerning patient care communication between provider organizations across the health care delivery system may assist nurses in developing better patient care information-management systems.