Patients returning home from hospital have to manage several chronic conditions in addition to their daily tasks. Nursing discharge teaching is key to improve patients’ self-care and reduce readmissions and costs. However, instructions discussed during hospitalization with professionals are forgotten immediately after discharge by 40-80% of patients, and half are remembered incorrectly. Misunderstanding or forgetting discharge instructions can have negative consequences for the way patients manage their care and health.
Patient Oriented Discharge Summary (PODS) is a simple tool, containing meaningful information for patients presented in an easy-to-understand format. This summary is a one-page document, with key information to be completed, such as the reason for hospitalization, warning signs to be monitored, who to call depending on the problem, the treatment plan and upcoming medical appointments. Patients take the PODS home at discharge to serve as a reference for relevant and individualized discharge information in the post-discharge period.
After a preliminary test of the PODS in the PREPARE project, the aim of this project is the implement the PODS in two hospital units and one rehabilitation unit as part of the discharge preparation routine.
Research team: Melinda Saam (Master student), Ella Charrière (Master student), Caroline Gachet (Master student), Dr.Sc Joanie Pellet (co-supervisor), Prof. Cedric Mabire (supervisor)