With communication between care sites a top barrier to efficient transitions for one quarter of respondents, HIN’s fourth comprehensive Care Transitions Management survey pinpointed information tools getting the message across during patient discharge and handoff.
Technology offers a leg up by way of telehealth and remote monitoring, respondents said; 75 percent of respondents transmit patient discharge or transition information via electronic medical records (EMR).
2015 Care Transition Survey Highlights
- Discharge summary templates are used by 45 percent of respondents.
- Beyond the EHR, information about discharged or transitioning patients is most often transmitted via phone or fax, say 38 percent of respondents.
- Twenty-seven percent of respondents record patient discharge instructions for patients’ future access.
- After communication, inconsistent follow-up is the most frequently reported barrier to care transition management, say 21 percent of respondents.
- The hospital-to-home transition is the most critical transition to manage, say 50 percent of respondents.
- Home visits for recently discharged patients are offered by 49 percent of respondents.
- Heart failure is the top targeted health condition of care transition efforts for 81 percent of respondents.
- A history of recent hospitalizations is the most glaring indicator of a need for care transitions management, say 81 percent of respondents.
- Beyond the self-developed approach, the most-modeled program is CMS’ Community-Based Care Transitions Program, say 13 percent of respondents.
- Eighty percent of respondents engage patients post-discharge via telephonic follow-up.
- A majority of respondents—72 percent—assign responsibility for care transition management to a healthcare case manager.
Download an executive summary of the February 2015 Care Transitions Management survey.
Tags: hospital discharge, patient handoffs, patient handovers
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