Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jun;51(6):891-895.
doi: 10.1111/imj.14872.

Australian public hospital inpatient satisfaction related to early patient involvement and shared decision-making in discharge planning

Yong Yau Paul Chia  1   2 , Adel Ekladious  3
Affiliations

Australian public hospital inpatient satisfaction related to early patient involvement and shared decision-making in discharge planning

Yong Yau Paul Chia et al. Intern Med J. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Surveys of hospital inpatient satisfaction may help develop actionable plans for quality improvement, and patients have preferred to give feedback during admission at the point of service compared to after discharge. However, patient satisfaction measurement has often been done by questionnaires post-discharge, and without focussing on an Australian general internal medicine setting.

Aims: To understand patients' perceptions of their admission experiences in an Australian public teaching hospital's general internal medicine unit, and to understand the opportunities for quality improvement.

Methods: A prospective study of 50 inpatients of a general internal medicine unit at an Australian public teaching hospital was carried out using a patient satisfaction questionnaire given to patients on the day of discharge.

Results: Patients perceived deficits in early communication about discharge destination planning, and provision of written discharge instructions. Responses highlighted the importance of checking with patients to elicit further information that was not previously captured during initial history-taking, patient-centred communication to enable informed consent and decision making, use of language readily understandable to laypersons, and checking for patients' understanding of messages as communicated by the treating clinician.

Conclusions: In an Australian general internal medicine service, early involvement and shared decision-making in discharge planning are valued by patients. Incorporating checking of patients' understanding of diagnoses, management, discharge instructions, and follow-up plans into ward round routines may benefit patient satisfaction. This study stimulates further research into the use of a proforma to capture and check patients' understanding of discharge diagnoses and plans.

Keywords: discharge planning; inpatient; patient satisfaction; public hospital; shared decision-making.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Dawn AG, Lee PP. Patient satisfaction instruments used at academic medical centers: results of a survey. Am J Med Qual 2003; 18: 265–9. - PubMed
    1. Stanowski AC, Simpson K, White A. Pay for performance: are hospitals becoming more efficient in improving their patient experience? J Healthc Manag 2015; 60: 268–85. - PubMed
    1. Urden LD. Patient satisfaction measurement: current issues and implications. Outcomes Manag 2002; 6: 125–31. - PubMed
    1. Burroughs TE, Cira JC, Chartock P, Davies AR, Dunagan WC. Using root cause analysis to address patient satisfaction and other improvement opportunities. Jt Comm J Qual Improv 2000; 26: 439–49. - PubMed
    1. Al‐Abri R, Al‐Balushi A. Patient satisfaction survey as a tool towards quality improvement. Oman Med J 2014; 29: 3–7. - PMC - PubMed