Hospital Discharge Planning Paper

Gouge (2017) defines patient discharge as the process by which health workers approve the concluding of hospitalization or patient care. Patient discharge dynamics have since changed following technological advancement and the incorporation of health information technology (HIT) systems in healthcare (Rittenhouse et al., 2017). Patient discharge is a delicate procedure since slight issues like communication mishaps or inadequate follow-up could decrease subsequent readmission (Kash et al., 2017). Healthcare providers must thus conduct the process with the utmost care and planning to ensure successful discharge. Discharge care planning is a continuous process, which should ideally begin at the beginning of the hospitalization period. Health workers must pay attention to crucial issues, not just hastening the process to cut down on hospitalization costs. The use of HIT systems allows healthcare organizations to advance towards data-driven facilities making patient discharge efficient. This essay attempts to establish the impact of HIT systems in Marta’s discharge care planning.Hospital Discharge Planning Paper

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HIT In Facilitating Longitudinal, Patient-Oriented Care

Besides providing convenience and accessibility, health information technology has enabled healthcare organizations to advance towards patient-centred care. HIT systems enable data collection from individuals and intensive analysis, thus supporting effective patient discharge care planning. Studies have established that incorporating HIT in health systems has made a remarkable impact, particularly in care coordination (Seckman, 2016). Since health services have prioritized longitudinal, patient-centred care, health information technology comes in handy in boosting efficiency in communication and care coordination. The need for inter-professional collaboration is evident in improving patient care. EHR and HIT thus ensure that collaborative teams can access information and clinical procedures in due time, informing progressive clinical decisions and inpatient treatment, therefore enabling effective patient discharge. According to Bauer et al. (2017), HIT allows for the stepwise data collection on Marta Rodriguez’s preferences and real-time sharing with other healthcare providers, thus enabling quality services and utmost patient safety.

HIT is crucial inpatient care as it minimizes chances of medication errors, which at the worst, could be fatal. Throughout the hospitalization period, there is often a need to transfer patients from one department to another. Therefore, health providers at the hospital are bound to transfer Marta Rodriguez to departments such as emergency or intensive care. Communication mishaps can thus be costly since they leave gaps for medication errors inpatient care. According to clinical research, communication mishaps among health workers account for a majority of adverse events, often turning out fatal. The transfer process necessitates intensive clarity and communication, which can be draining for health providers. Besides, the unending phone calls are time-consuming, some of which may be missed, delaying treatment and sometimes leading to the omission of procedures. HIT brings together all patient data enabling accessibility at whatever time, ensuring accurate clinical decision making and holistic care.

HIT Elements the Health Providers Will Use

Various components make up health information technology systems. These elements include data sources, data management, dissemination, and resources, which include ICT equipment and personnel. Data collection and management can be hectic and require some technical know-how hence the need for IT personnel. The need for training healthcare professionals on how to use the integrated health information system in creating an effective patient discharge care plan is also imminent. The HIT system must be fed with information to generate the essential data hence the need for data sources. In Marta’s case, data sources will comprise the patient, her family, and the healthcare team. The data collected from the sources will be crucial in designing the patient’s after-care as well as the discharge care plan. Data management is also a vital element, which comprises of data compilation and analysis. Data management also ensures accessibility and privacy.

HIT in Preventing Marta’s Readmission 48 Hours after Discharge

The inter-professional healthcare team can utilize several HIT elements to enhance patient safety and intensify patient care, thus reducing patient readmission chances, including data collection, management, and resources. These elements come in handy in patient-provider and inter-professional providers’ communication and clinical decision making. HIT systems necessitate the use of various resources, which include electronic health records (EHRs), patient registries, and risk stratification software in promoting integrated patient care across the continuum. Patient-provider communication is essential during goal setting and progress assessment. Patient education is also vital since studies have demonstrated the importance of informed decisions in improving overall wellness (Kash et al., 2017). The role of Marta Rodriguez in preventing her readmission is thus significant. The HIT system will also come in handy in informing the healthcare team on any impending unforeseen consequences, prompting preparation for such clinical situations, thus preventing readmission.

HIT Elements that Support Care Coordination for Marta Rodriguez

HIT systems significantly contribute to inter-professional team patient care as they enable data collection, management, and clinical decision-making. HIT elements facilitate communication between members of the inter-professional healthcare team, thus improving care coordination across the wellness continuum (Seckman, 2016). The system enables accessibility of Marta Rodriguez’s health records at the convenience of the inter-professional team, making enhancing efficiency in patient care. Besides, the HIT element of data collection and management allows health professionals to seek minimal clarity, thus saving time and energy. Samhan et al. (2020) emphasize the importance of health information technology data collection and management elements. For instance, if Marta Rodriguez opens up about her mental health struggles along the inpatient treatment period, HIT elements will eliminate the need to keep having that mental health discussion with every other member of the inter-professional team. The HIT elements thus support care coordination for Marta Rodriguez.Hospital Discharge Planning Paper

Data Reporting Specific to Marta Rodriguez’s Behaviors

Data reporting is a crucial aspect of patient care as it sets the pace for patient outcomes. Healthcare organizations have since set out to optimize data reporting to ensure efficient care coordination and management, clinical efficiency, and inter-professional collaboration. According to Ollivere et al. (2020), data reporting explores the usefulness of current and past patient information, enabling healthcare providers to identify impending critical medical issues. Data reporting specific to patient behaviors enhances the quality of patient care and lowers the chances of readmission. The process also enables patient monitoring since healthcare providers can use current and past metrics to gauge the state of affairs in Marta’s health and take preventive or corrective measures in case of foreseen conditions.  The data collected from Marta Rodriguez can also provide insights into the patient’s diagnosis, giving leeway for improved patient care planning. Also, Medicare and Medicaid Services champion for affordable and protective patient care through novel information technologies.

Data Quality Evaluation

Research has established that high-quality data drive quality patient care and better patient outcomes. Great data qualities enable health providers to customize patient care, thus effectively catering to the needs of individual patients. Various parameters can be used to gauge the quality of data, including data accuracy, completeness, consistency, validity, and timeliness. Data accuracy can be defined as the correctness of the information. Data completeness refers to the degree of sufficiency of information in matters breadth and depth based on the clinical issues in question (Taleb et al., 2016). Consistency refers to the capacity of data to maintain synchronicity across databases when the format is constant. On the extreme, the validity defines the measure to which the data collected can obey the rules set by the required value. Timeliness, on the rear, attaches the aspect of time to information validity.

Use of the Data Collected in Influencing Positive Patient Outcomes

The clinical decision-making process’s efficiency is entirely dependent on the data collected before and during patient care. The information gathered must represent Marta Rodriguez’s preferences and enable her to make informed autonomous decisions regarding the clinical situation. If the data is of good quality, it ensures positive patient outcomes besides enhancing organizational performance. Health information technology systems provide healthcare organizations with the necessary tools for collecting data for presenting to insurance companies for medical coverage. Presenting sufficient information enables proper patient coverage, securing health financing for Marta Rodriguez and encouraging healthcare providers to care for her adequately. Health financing also enables patients to obtain affordable and quality care, thus enhancing patient satisfaction and outcomes.Hospital Discharge Planning Paper

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How the Inter-professional Team Members will Coordinate their Findings in the Collaborative Use of HIT Systems

Although inter-professional collaboration is a crucial aspect of modern patient care, the collaborative use of systems poses a challenge to healthcare providers. The collaboration encompasses different professionals working together towards Marta Rodriguez’s well-being and discharge. Thus, the process calls for intensive group effort and team cohesion to ensure the patient’s wellness and cater to her needs. The HIT system provides accessibility and convenience since every team member can access all the clinical information at whatever time there is a need. However, with the accessibility comes the challenge of misunderstanding since each of the professionals interprets the information based on their understanding, which often differs from other people’s. Thus, the entire team must stay in constant communication as they understand the implications of inconsistencies in inpatient care. The team must also agree on the intensive documentation of each decision to ensure transparency and efficiency.

Conclusion

Healthcare organizations have prioritized the integration of health information technology into their systems in a bid to enhance patient outcomes and organizational performance. Also, health systems are shifting to patient-oriented care hence the need to incorporate HIT systems (Bauer et al., 2017). Besides enabling team cohesion and communication between health workers, HIT provides accurate and consistent data collection hence minimizing medication errors. With comprehensive HIT systems, health providers get to access data at their convenience and are able to make clinical decisions in favor of their patients. This paper analyzes the impact of HIT systems in developing a conclusive patient discharge care plan for an accident victim, Marta Rodriguez. It delves into the various HIT elements crucial in her treatment and patient care since patient discharge planning should ideally begin at the onset of hospitalization. The paper then explores various aspects of longitudinal patient care and incorporates HIT in developing Marta Rodriguez’s discharge care plan.

References

Gouge, C. C. (2017). Improving patient discharge communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 47(4), 419-439.

Kash, B. A., Baek, J., Davis, E., Champagne-Langabeer, T., & Langabeer II, J. R. (2017). Review of successful hospital readmission reduction strategies and the role of health information exchange. International journal of medical informatics, 104, 97-104.

Ollivere, B., Metcalfe, D., Perry, D. C., & Haddad, F. S. (2020). SEARCHeD: Supporting Evaluation, Analysis, and Reporting of routinely Collected Healthcare Data: Reporting standards for orthopedic studies using routinely collected or registry data.

Samhan, B., Crampton, T., & Ruane, R. (2018). The Trajectory of IT in Healthcare at HICSS: A Literature Review, Analysis, and Future Directions. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 43(1), 41.Hospital Discharge Planning Paper

Seckman, C. (2016). Informatics at the Crossroads of Care Coordination. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 34(10), 431.

Taleb, I., El Kassabi, H. T., Serhani, M. A., Dssouli, R., & Bouhaddioui, C. (2016, July). Big data quality: A quality dimensions evaluation. In 2016 Intl IEEE Conferences on Ubiquitous Intelligence & Computing, Advanced and Trusted Computing, Scalable Computing and Communications, Cloud and Big Data Computing, Internet of People, and Smart World Congress (UIC/ATC/ScalCom/CBDCom/IoP/SmartWorld) (pp. 759-765). IEEE.

Bauer, A. M., Rue, T., Munson, S. A., Ghomi, R. H., Keppel, G. A., Cole, A. M., … & Katon, W. (2017). Patient-oriented health technologies: patients’ perspectives and use. Journal of mobile technology in medicine, 6(2), 1.

Rittenhouse, D. R., Ramsay, P. P., Casalino, L. P., McClellan, S., Kandel, Z. K., & Shortell, S. M. (2017). Increased health information technology adoption and use among small primary care physician practices over time: a national cohort study. The Annals of Family Medicine, 15(1), 56-62.

Prepare a written analysis of key issues, 6–7 pages in length, applicable to the development of an effective patient discharge care plan.

The Institute of Medicine’s 2000 report To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System identified health information technology (HIT) as one avenue to explore to reduce avoidable medical errors. As a result of the IOM report and suggestions for patient advocacy groups, health care organizations are encouraged to act by utilizing HIT to improve patient quality and safety.

Health care organizations determine outcomes by how patient information is collected, analyzed, and presented, and nurse leaders are taking the lead in using HIT to bridge the gaps in care coordination. This assessment provides an opportunity for you to analyze the effects of HIT support, data reporting, and EHR data collection on effective care planning.

By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply care coordination models to improve the patient experience, promote population health, and reduce costs.
  • Explain how HIT can be used to provide a longitudinal, patient-centered care plan across the continuum of care.
• Competency 2: Explain the relationship between care coordination and evidence-based data.
  • Describe ways in which data reporting specific to client behaviors can shape care coordination, care management, clinical efficiency, and interprofessional idea development.
• Competency 3: Use health information technology to guide care coordination and organizational practice.
  • Explain how information collected from client records can be used to positively influence health outcomes.Hospital Discharge Planning Paper
• Competency 4: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with applicable organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
  • Write clearly and concisely, using correct grammar and mechanics.
  • Support main points, claims, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

Preparation

Marta Rodriguez, a student, recently moved from New Mexico to Nevada to live with her aunt and uncle and was enrolled as a freshman in college. While attending her first semester, Marta was involved in a hit-and-run car accident. She was transported to the nearest shock trauma center where she spent the next four weeks undergoing multiple surgeries and antibiotic treatment for a systemic infection. Spanish is Marta’s first language and English is her second. Marta has a student health insurance plan.

You are the senior care coordinator overseeing Marta’s care. You will be presenting her case to the interdisciplinary team members who are caring for Marta at an upcoming meeting to consider key aspects of a successful and safe discharge care plan for her. You are expected to lead the discussion, focusing on the role of informatics in effective discharge care planning, and have decided to prepare an analysis of key issues for team members to consider, which you will distribute to the attendees for review prior to the meeting.

Requirements

Analyze key issues for consideration at the discharge planning meeting. Determine the effects of HIT support, data reporting, and EHR data collection on effective care planning.

Analyzing Key Issues

The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that your analysis addresses each point, at a minimum. You may also want to read the Patient Discharge Care Planning Scoring Guide to better understand how each criterion will be assessed.

• Explain how the interprofessional team will use HIT to provide a longitudinal, patient-centered care plan across the continuum of care that supports Marta in the discharge planning process.
  • What HIT elements will the team members use and why?
  • How can the interprofessional team members utilize the HIT elements to prevent a readmission of this patient 48 hours after being discharged?
  • How will the use of these elements support the coordination of care for this patient?
• Describe at least three ways in which data reporting specific to client behaviors can shape care coordination, care management, clinical efficiency, and interprofessional innovation in care.
  • How would you evaluate the quality of the data?
• Explain how information collected from client records can be used to positively influence health outcomes.
  • How will the interprofessional team members coordinate their individual findings in the collaborative use of HIT?
• Write clearly and concisely, using correct grammar and mechanics.Hospital Discharge Planning Paper
  • Express your main points and conclusions coherently.
  • Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your analysis.
• Support main points, claims, and conclusions with relevant and credible evidence, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.
  • Is your supporting evidence clear and explicit?
  • How or why does particular evidence support a claim?
  • Will your audience see the connection?

Additional Requirements

Written Analysis Format and Length

Format your written analysis using APA style:

• Use the APA Style Paper]. Be sure to include:
  • A title page and references page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
• Your analysis should be 6–7 pages in length, not including the title page and references page.

Supporting Evidence

• Cite at least eight sources of credible scholarly or professional evidence to support your analysis.
• Apply APA formatting to all in-text citations and references.

Hospital Discharge Planning Paper