Improving the quality of discharge summaries through a direct feedback system

Abstract

Introduction There is a recognised need to improve the quality of discharge documentation to facilitate the safe and effective ongoing care of patients once they leave hospital. Previous studies have focused on individual interventions, such as teaching or feedback. Our continuous quality improvement project aims to improve the quality of discharge documentation at our hospital by providing a comprehensive overhaul of the education and feedback around discharge documentation. Methods We designed a comprehensive data analysis tool to analyse the performance of our discharge summaries. We presented at clinical governance sessions and arranged numerous teaching sessions for junior doctors. We developed a live-feedback system based on the content of a sample set of the previous month's summaries, which included poster-based feedback and group teaching. Results Our interventions have significantly improved the quality of our discharge documentation across a broad range of categories, including the summary of the stay, actions for general practitioners and information given to patients in lay terminology. Conclusion Our comprehensive quality improvement project has improved the quality of our discharge documentation. Further work aims to expand this project into a regional setting, as well as designing a strategy to maintain engagement of key stakeholders to ensure continued progress.