December 2019
Hospital Discharge Summaries Contain Important Information for Primary Care Providers
It is important for primary care providers (PCPs) to know details about the care their patients receive during inpatient hospital stays. The hospital discharge summary is the key source for this information and is used to improve coordination and quality of care.
Here’s some useful information you may want to use to help when discharging Federal Employee Program® (FEP®) members after inpatient hospital stays.
Studies have shown that providing timely, structured discharge summaries to PCPs helps reduce readmission rates, improves patient satisfaction and supports continuity of care. One study found that at discharge, around 40% of patients typically have test results pending and 10% of those results require action. PCPs and patients may be unaware of these results.1,3
A prospective cohort study found that one in five patients discharged from the hospital to their homes experienced an adverse event (defined as an injury resulting from medical management rather than from the underlying disease) within three weeks of discharge. This study found 66% of these were drug-related adverse events.2,3
The following key information is important to include in every discharge summary:
- Course of treatment
- Diagnostic test results
- Follow-up plans
- Diagnostic test results pending at discharge
- Discharge medications with reasons for changes/medication reconciliation
1 U.S. National Library of Medicine, Patient safety concerns arising from test results that return after hospital discharge. 2005. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16027454
2 U.S. National Library of Medicine, The incidence and severity of adverse events affecting patients after discharge from the hospital. 2003. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12558354
3 U.S. National Library of Medicine, Transitions of Care Consensus Policy Statement: American College of Physicians, Society of General Internal Medicine, Society of Hospital Medicine, American Geriatrics Society, American College of Emergency Physicians, and Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. 2009. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19343456
The information in this article is being provided for educational purposes only and is not the provision of medical care or advice. Physicians and other health care providers are to their own best medical judgment based upon all available information and the condition of the patient in determining the best course of treatment. The fact that a service or treatment is described in this material is not a guarantee that the service or treatment is a covered benefit and members should refer to their certificate of coverage for more details, including benefits, limitations and exclusions. Regardless of benefits, the final decision about any service or treatment is between the member and their health care provider.