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;24(3):892-904.
doi: 10.1111/hex.13232. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Discharge processes and medicines communication from the patient perspective: A qualitative study at an internal medicines ward in Norway

Stine Eidhammer Rognan  1   2 , Sofia Kälvemark Sporrong  3 , Kajsa Bengtsson  4 , Helene Berg Lie  4 , Yvonne Andersson  2 , Morten Mowé  5   6 , Liv Mathiesen  4
Affiliations

Discharge processes and medicines communication from the patient perspective: A qualitative study at an internal medicines ward in Norway

Stine Eidhammer Rognan et al. Health Expect. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Patients are expected to participate in the hospital discharge process, assume self-management after discharge and communicate relevant information to their general practitioner; however, patients report that they are not being sufficiently empowered to take on these responsibilities. The aim of this study was to explore and understand the discharge process with a focus on medicines communication, from the patient perspective.

Methods: Patients were included at a hospital ward, observed during health-care personnel encounters on the day of discharge and interviewed 1-2 weeks after discharge. A process analysis was performed, and a content analysis combined data from observations and data from patient interviews focusing on medicines communication in the discharge process.

Results: A total of 9 patients were observed on the day of discharge, equalling 67.5 hours of observations. The analysis resulted in the following themes: (a) the observed discharge process; (b) patient initiatives; and (c) the patient role. The medicines communication in the discharge process appeared unstructured. Various patient preferences and needs were revealed. The elements of the best practice structured discharge conversation were observed; however, some patients did not have a discharge conversation at all.

Conclusions: The study contributes to a broader understanding of the discharge process, how patients experience it, including their role. It is evident that the discharge process is not always tailored to meet the patients' needs. More focus on early patient involvement and communication, in order to better prepare patients for self-management of their medications, is important for their health outcomes.

Keywords: hospital discharge; medicines communication; observational study; patient empowerment; patient perspective; patient-centred care.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Road map of the day of discharge. The y‐axis represents duration of the encounters (minutes). Numbers represent total duration per hour. The x‐axis shows the patients and the time of the encounters with HCPs during the day (from 08:00 to 15:30). Standard measurements and administration of medicines are marked with green. Ward round and discharge encounter with doctor are marked with orange. White represents ‘other encounters with HCPs’. 'Discharged' indicates the end of the discharge process, here defined as the patients' departure from the hospital ward
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Hesselink G, Zegers M, Vernooij‐Dassen M, et al. Improving patient discharge and reducing hospital readmissions by using Intervention Mapping. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014;14:389. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Flink M, Hesselink G, Pijnenborg L, et al. The key actor: a qualitative study of patient participation in the handover process in Europe. BMJ Qual Saf. 2012;21(Suppl 1):i89‐i96. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Scott J. Patient experiences of safety in care transitions. In: Aase K, Warning J, eds. Researching Quality in Care Transitions International Perspectives. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG; 2017.
    1. World Health Organisation (WHO) . Medication Safety in Transitions of Care 2019. https://www.who.int/patientsafety/medication‐safety/TransitionOfCare.pdf.... Accessed May 20, 2020.
    1. Aase K, Warning J, Schibevaag L. Crossing boundaries: Quality in care transitions. In: Aase K, Warning J, eds. Researching quality in care transitions international perspectives. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing AG; 2017.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources