Intensive care discharges: improving the quality of clinical handover

"This project demonstrated how modifying system factors, such as a standardised template, could effectively modify individuals’ practices. Simple changes to the design of an intensive care discharge summary have been shown to greatly improve the quality of handover information, with the aim of improved continuity and quality of care."

Intensive care discharges: improving the quality of clinical handover through changes to discharge documentation
W Hall, P Keane, S Wang, F Debell, A Allana, P Karia
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u209711.w4036

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Improving the quality of discharge summaries

"Moving to one electronic discharge summary system and designing a new template has led to a significant improvement in the quality of discharge summaries at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. "

Improving the quality of discharge summaries: implementing updated Academy of Medical Royal Colleges standards at a district general hospital
H May-Miller et al.
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u207268.w2918

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Improving critical care discharge summaries

"An innovative form of enhanced capability critical care outreach called ‘iMobile’ is being provided at King’s College Hospital (KCH). Part of the remit of iMobile is to review patients who have been transferred from critical care to general wards. The iMobile team wished to improve the quality of critical care discharge summaries."

Improving critical care discharge summaries: a collaborative quality improvement project using PDSA
L Goulding et al.
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203938.w3268

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Improving the quality of discharge summaries for elective surgical procedures

"We conclude that discharge summaries are an effective time point for intervening to provide patients with specific post-operative information and this may be optimised for different elective procedures via the introduction of electronically-distributed standardised templates."

Improving the quality of discharge summaries for elective surgical procedures at North Bristol NHS Trust

E Ladds, F Betteridge, S Yamamoto, T Gupta-Jessop

BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203452.w1552

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Improving the percentage of electronic discharge summaries completed within 24 hours of discharge

"EDSs are an important part of patient care and medical communication. It is therefore important that they are completed promptly. Our results show the five day EDS summary led to a mean 9.75% improvement in EDS completion rates, and the protected EDS hour a mean 4.5% improvement in EDS completion rates within 24 hours of patient discharge."

Improving the percentage of electronic discharge summaries completed within 24 hours of discharge
M Haycock, L Stuttaford, O Ruscombe-King, Z Barker, K Callaghan, T Davis
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2014;3: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u205963.w2604

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Improving the accuracy of operation coding in surgical discharge summaries

" We suggest that specifically designed coding tables be introduced across each surgical department to ensure accurate OPCS codes are used to produce better quality surgical discharge summaries and to ensure correct reimbursement to the Trust."

Improving the accuracy of operation coding in surgical discharge summaries
E Martinou, G Shouls, N Betambeau
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2014;3

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Providing community-based health practitioners with timely and accurate discharge medicines information

"The Medicines Information Transfer Fax (MITF) is an effective approach for the timely delivery of accurate discharge medicines information to community-based practitioners responsible for the patient's ongoing care."

Providing community-based health practitioners with timely and accurate discharge medicines information
AV Gilbert, B Patel, M Morrow, D Williams, MS Roberts, AL Gilbert
BMC Health Services Research, 2012, 12:453

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