INT2 – The patient in charge of the discharge

Link to EAHP Statements
Section 4 – Clinical Pharmacy: Statements – 4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7
Section 5 – Patient Safety and Quality Assurance: Statements – 5.1, 5.9

Abstract
The return home from hospital can be difficult, particularly for older people. When approaching discharge, patients are often unprepared for the actions and processes involved and what will happen to them. Suddenly there is a discharge consultation, minutes before the taxi arrives, with limited opportunities for asking questions. The patient is provided with an updated(?) medication list and sometimes a discharge summary/letter, without explanations about changes and written in an academic language. When returning home there may be numerous questions regarding medication management, follow-up, who to contact if feeling worse,…If the days leading up to the discharge is instead used to prepare patients for what to expect and what to request in form of information, this could be avoided.
Patient empowerment and engagement before, during and after hospital discharge, are important factors that improve patient outcomes; e.g. increased adherence to medication leading to better control of disease. It is thought that many hospital readmissions could be avoided if more effort was put into involving the patients in decisions regarding their care and preparing them for the discharge and homecoming.
Information brochures, films and question prompt lists (QPL) can be used as aids/resources to increase patient knowledge and encourage patients to take a more active role in their own care. The QPL for example can help them check their own knowledge and understanding which questions their need to ask, and how to ask them, in order to feel confident and safe when returning home.
In this workshop participants will discuss strategies and apply tools that can be used to increase patient empowerment, knowledge and engagement in the discharge process, particularly focusing on medication treatment.

Learning objectives
After the session, the participant should be able to:

• Discuss why patient empowerment and engagement, at hospital discharge, is important for factors that improve patient outcomes.
• Describe and apply tools and strategies used to improve care transitions.
• Discuss roles for clinical pharmacists in empowering and preparing patients for discharge.

Educational need addressed
Hospital pharmacists are not routinely involved in the patient discharge processes and if they are, it can be trying to solve problems and errors that have already taken place. This workshop will give ideas and tools on how to work proactively to improve safety and health outcomes through increased patient engagement.
Keywords
Patient empowerment, question prompt list, care transitions, preparing for discharge.