Discharge communication from inpatient care: an audit of written medical discharge summary procedure against the new National Health Service Standard for clinical handover.

Conclusions The introduction of the National Service Standards prompted an organisation-wide audit of discharge summary practices against the external criterion. There was substantial variation in the organisation's practices. The Standards and the current audit results highlight an opportunity for the organisation to enhance and standardise discharge summary practices and improve communication with general practice. What is known about the topic? The Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (Standard 6) require health service organisations to implement documented systems that support structured and effective clinical handover. Discharge summaries are an important and often the only form of communication during a patient's transition from hospital to the community. Incomplete, inaccurate and unavailable discharge summaries are common and expose patients to greater health risks. Junior staff members find completing discharge summaries difficult and fail to receive appropriate education or support. There is little published evidence regarding the discharge summary practices of inpatient health services. What does this paper add? The paper demonstrates that there is substantial variation in practice regarding discharge summaries in a large regional health service. Departments have different processes and vary in the degree of attention and quality assurance provided to discharge summaries. Variable organisation procedures make completing discharge summarie...
Source: Australian Health Review - Category: Hospital Management Authors: Tags: Aust Health Rev Source Type: research