“Evaluating the whole discharge process allowed us to see the gaps and discrepancies in the discharge process,” Cronin says. “Each discipline had their own set of procedures and materials, which proved lacking and inconsistent for our patients. It was an essential and eye-opening experience for Lodi to make change.”
One of the biggest revelations was learning how broken the discharge process was for the nurses. When Lodi looked at its current process of using case managers to handle high-risk patients and leaving the remaining patient discharges to the nurses, they found that the process was not strong enough to support patient load.
Knowledge Is Power
Cronin says Lodi has standardized its patient educational materials and started the patient education process as soon as patients are admitted. This step optimizes a patient’s understanding of diagnoses and care instructions when the time comes for discharge.
Through the Project BOOST assessment, Lodi ascertained that many of its patients were being discharged to skilled-nursing facilities, which heightens the complexity of post-care and introduces the potential for increased risks. Lodi is now working to better communicate with the skilled-nursing facilities using its Project BOOST training to streamline the discharge process.
The implementation of the Teach Back communication strategy has been critical in increasing patient knowledge and adherence to care instructions, official say. Based on the success of Project BOOST implementation, Teach Back has been incorporated into mandatory nurse training throughout the hospital.
Improved Care
More than 80 patients were discharged through the BOOST process in the first 90 days of implementation. Lodi is already experiencing the benefits of Project BOOST organizationally and
expects to see the financial impacts soon through a lower 30-day readmission rate.
“Lodi has experienced a shift in patient safety culture with improved communication through a team approach to care,” Cronin says. “Lodi expects high success through Project BOOST with the goal of implementing Project BOOST across all disease states and every discipline using Teachback.
“Project BOOST has been the ideal program to align with our strategic organizational goals to improve transitions of care and re-create the patient safety culture to make systemwide sustainable change,” she says.
For more information about Project BOOST, visit www.hospitalmedicine.org/boost.
Jacqui Petock, marketing project manager
