Many providers care for our patients, including physicians and nurses who send patients to us, as well as those who receive our patients in other care facilities or home care. It is essential for excellent quality of care that all members of the care team have accurate, complete and timely information.
There are many benefits when detailed information about the patient arrives at home, to home care providers, to providers in non-acute facilities, and to referring physicians:
- the patient is more likely to receive the necessary care;
- errors can be decreased;
- duplication can be decreased; and
- phone calls from outside facilities to BWH nurses and physicians can be reduced.
For these reasons, the hospital requires excellent, accurate and timely information be sent with all patients discharged from BWH. Following are steps you can take to ensure hospital customers, whether patients or outside caregivers, receive the information they need:
- Review and edit all medications when entering them into the discharge summary;
- Be sure medications are accurate, necessary, and in keeping with outpatient therapy and formularies (in particular be sure that anticoagulation, antibiotics, pain medications, and sedatives are perfectly planned and described);
- Write and discuss discharge orders and plans with patient, family, nurses and care coordinators the day prior to expected discharge;
- Write all prescriptions well in advance of discharge time. Be sure patients have necessary equipment for discharge in advance;
- Be sure patients and families understand their medications and potential side effects; and
- Be sure that the referring and receiving physicians receive a timely summary of the patient’s care at Brigham and Women’s.
If you would like to work on BWH’s discharge process or have suggestions for improvements, contact Robert Goldszer, MD, MBA, at 617-732-8988 or rgoldszer@partners.org.