Proposed Discharge Summary Checklist to Assist Residents Completing Discharges to the Transitional Care Unit

Abstract

Medical residents at a hospital in Maryland are responsible for completing discharge paperwork for patients destined for an affiliated transitional care unit (TCU). The hospital to TCU discharge process is complicated because patients are discharged from the hospital and subsequently readmitted to the TCU while maintaining continuity of care. New Medical residents at times find it challenging to navigate this hospital’s discharge to TCU process. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing project was to evaluate the perceived usefulness of a proposed discharge checklist. Invitations were sent to all medical residents on a current rotation at the hospital n=18. The residents were asked to review a new discharge to TCU checklist that was designed for the project and then respond to a 6-item questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. After reviewing the checklist, 17 residents completed the questionnaire. Fifteen participants indicated that the checklist would have been beneficial for them at the time they completed their first discharge to the TCU. All 17 participants agreed the checklist would be beneficial for future residents at the hospital. The project found that new residents at the hospital initially struggle with the discharge from hospital to the affiliated TCU process and that checklists can assist the residents in completing the required documents. A discharge checklist can eliminate the need to edit discharge paperwork, improve patient outcomes, improve patient throughput in the hospital, decrease readmission rates, save healthcare dollars, and improve quality ratings.