Improving the standard of discharge summaries using a quality improvement approach
Thomas David Shepherd, Caitriona Stapleton, Sara Khalid, Bryony Dayment, Alex Moate, Ellen Benn, Catrin Jones-Evans, Charu Kayan, Kirsten Fernandes, Sandra Mohamed, Phoebe Scarfield, Jasmine R. Lee · Future Healthcare Journal · 2022
Results and discussionThe baseline compliance of discharge summaries was 61% measured in April 2021; this improved to an average compliance of 92% following our first PDSA intervention in June 2021.We subsequently achieved a compliance of 91% following both our second and third PDSA cycles.Our fourth cycle achieved a compliance of 93%.We have achieved sustained improvement from a baseline mean compliance of 70% to a mean of 85% (Fig 1).Patient feedback has been positive, with 93% (n=15) reporting that discharge summaries were easy to understand.There have been no further GP quality alerts or patient safety incidents relating to discharge summaries on the ward, and a 70% reduction within the wider hospital. ConclusionThis project has shown significant improvement in discharge summary quality as measured by our 10 core components.We anticipate that sustaining improvements will be a challenge requiring significant behavioural change.The project is now being expanded into the Paediatrics Department and Community Response Teams within the trust.Our next goal is to expand this project further throughout multiple trusts.Widespread adoption of such changes will improve patient safety and satisfaction.