Biomaterial Database

Articulation of postsurgical patient discharges: coordinating care transitions from hospital to home. 2022

Joanna Abraham, and Madhumitha Kandasamy, and Ashley Huggins

Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Cardiac surgery patients are at high risk for readmissions after hospital discharge- few of these readmissions are preventable by mitigating barriers underlying discharge care transitions. An in-depth evaluation of the nuances underpinning the discharge process and the use of tools to support the process, along with insights on patient and clinician experiences, can inform the design of evidence-based strategies to reduce preventable readmissions. The study objectives are 3-fold: elucidate perceived factors affecting the postsurgical discharge care transitions of cardiac surgery patients going home; highlight differences among clinician and patient perceptions of the postsurgical discharge experiences, and ascertain the impact of these transitions on patient recovery at home. We conducted a prospective multi-stakeholder study using mixed methods, including general observations, patient shadowing, chart reviews, clinician interviews, and follow-up telephone patient and caregiver surveys/interviews. We followed thematic and content analyses. Participants included 49 patients, 6 caregivers, and 27 clinicians. We identified interdependencies between the predischarge preparation, discharge education, and postdischarge follow-up care phases that must be coordinated for effective discharge care transitions. We identified several factors that could lead to fragmented discharges, including limited preoperative preparation, ill-defined discharge education, and postoperative plans. To address these, clinicians often performed behind-the-scenes work, including offering informal preoperative preparation, tailoring discharge education, and personalizing postdischarge follow-up plans. As a result, majority of patients reported high satisfaction with care transitions and their positive impact on their home recovery. Articulation work by clinicians (ie, behind the scenes work) is critical for ensuring safety, care continuity, and overall patient experience during care transitions. We discuss key evidence-based considerations for re-engineering postsurgical discharge workflows and re-designing discharge interventions.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010351	Patient Discharge	The administrative process of discharging the patient, alive or dead, from hospitals or other health facilities.	Discharge Planning,Discharge Plannings,Discharge, Patient,Discharges, Patient,Patient Discharges,Planning, Discharge,Plannings, Discharge
D010359	Patient Readmission	Subsequent admissions of a patient to a hospital or other health care institution for treatment.	Hospital Readmission,Rehospitalization,Unplanned Hospital Readmissions,Unplanned Readmission,30 Day Readmission,Hospital Readmissions,Readmission, Hospital,Readmissions, Hospital,Thirty Day Readmission,30 Day Readmissions,Hospital Readmission, Unplanned,Hospital Readmissions, Unplanned,Readmission, Patient,Readmission, Thirty Day,Readmission, Unplanned,Rehospitalizations,Thirty Day Readmissions,Unplanned Hospital Readmission,Unplanned Readmissions
D010360	Patient Transfer	Interfacility or intrahospital transfer of patients. Intrahospital transfer is usually to obtain a specific kind of care and interfacility transfer is usually for economic reasons as well as for the type of care provided.	Patient Dumping,Care Transition,Health Care Transition,Patient Transition,Patient Turfing,Transition of Care,Care Transition, Health,Care Transitions,Care Transitions, Health,Dumping, Patient,Health Care Transitions,Patient Transfers,Patient Transitions,Patient Turfings,Transfer, Patient,Transfers, Patient,Transition, Care,Transition, Health Care,Transition, Patient,Transitions, Care,Transitions, Health Care,Transitions, Patient,Turfing, Patient,Turfings, Patient
D011182	Postoperative Care	The period of care beginning when the patient is removed from surgery and aimed at meeting the patient's psychological and physical needs directly after surgery. (From Dictionary of Health Services Management, 2d ed)	Care, Postoperative,Postoperative Procedures,Procedures, Postoperative,Postoperative Procedure,Procedure, Postoperative
D011446	Prospective Studies	Observation of a population for a sufficient number of persons over a sufficient number of years to generate incidence or mortality rates subsequent to the selection of the study group.	Prospective Study,Studies, Prospective,Study, Prospective
D006761	Hospitals	Institutions with an organized medical staff which provide medical care to patients.	Hospital
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000088745	Hospital to Home Transition	Patient-centered hospital discharge to home planning and transition.	Hospital to Home,Home, Hospital to,Hospital to Homes
D000359	Aftercare	The care and treatment of a convalescent patient, especially that of a patient after surgery.	After Care,After-Treatment,Follow-Up Care,Postabortal Programs,Postabortion,After Treatment,After-Treatments,Care, Follow-Up,Cares, Follow-Up,Follow Up Care,Follow-Up Cares,Postabortal Program,Program, Postabortal,Programs, Postabortal
D036301	Qualitative Research	Any type of research that employs nonnumeric information to explore individual or group characteristics, producing findings not arrived at by statistical procedures or other quantitative means. (Qualitative Inquiry: A Dictionary of Terms Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1997)	Research, Qualitative