Standardized Discharge Planning Tool Leads to Earlier Discharges and Fewer Readmissions

Background: In an inpatient setting, aspects of discharge planning are often left to the provider's memory, leading to errors, inefficiencies, and avoidable costs.

Methods: A multidisciplinary team of oncology practitioners used process improvement methodologies to redesign the discharge planning process.

Interventions: The primary intervention was an evidence-based discharge planning tool, called the discharge navigator, used from admission through discharge.

Results: Thirty-day unplanned readmission rates decreased by 29.0% from preimplementation (March 2017 through August 2017) to postimplementation (September 2017 through March 2020). The percentage of patients discharged before noon increased 76.2%. A comparable service not utilizing the intervention saw lesser or no improvement in these measures.

Conclusion: The tool provided a systematic approach to discharge planning. Key design elements included a centralized location within the electronic health record and an electronic shortcut to populate the tool. Although developed for a specialized population, most elements are applicable to any hospitalized patient.