Effectiveness of a discharge-planning pilot program for orthopedic patients in Taiwan

The purpose of this pilot project was to establish a discharge-planning model and evaluate its effectiveness. Orthopedic patients who scored 7 or above on a high-risk screening form were recruited for the project. Case managers served as discharge planners, and handled the following procedures: screening of patients, drawing up of the discharge plan, providing pre-discharge instructions, coordinating resources and services, and telephone follow-up. Results showed that discharge planning improved both the completion rate of pre-discharge instructions and patient satisfaction with discharge planning. It is suggested that, in future research, experimental studies could be used to examine the effectiveness of discharge planning. The study showed the importance of dedicated case managers for improving the effectiveness of discharge planning.