Discharge communiqué: use of a workflow byproduct to generate an interim discharge summary

Medical problems left unresolved during hospitalizations (along with recommended outpatient evaluations, test results pending at discharge, and discharge medication regimens) are often documented in patients' discharge summaries. However, studies have demonstrated that discharge summaries are frequently unavailable or inaccessible at post discharge visit(s). Interim discharge summaries have been shown to improve the flow of information between inpatient and outpatient physicians. We have constructed a web-based solution, discharge communiqués that are very much like interim discharge summaries but are an automatic byproduct of an every day workflow process, signout. The New SignOut System captures signout information and generates discharge communiqués immediately upon discharge. From June 2002-January 2003 7926 discharge communiqués were made available on 7926 patients and there were 12,920 look-ups of communiqués. Studies concur that 40-50% of patients will not have an available discharge summary making communiqués the primary source of clinical information on prior hospitalization for outpatient physicians.