Implementation Strategies for Same Day Discharge Post Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Integrative Review

Same day discharge following percutaneous coronary intervention has emerged worldwide to enhance discharge efficiency and decrease length of stay. However, uptake of this practice is variable and strategies to support its implementation have not been examined.

Among patients who undergo nonurgent percutaneous coronary intervention, what components are included in and which strategies are used to facilitate the implementation of same day discharge in clinical practice?

An integrative review was conducted. Keywords including same day discharge, outpatient, percutaneous coronary intervention, outpatient coronary stenting were used to search databases including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Excerpta Medica dataBase, Cochrane, and Medline between 1990 and 2014. Data were extracted and summarized specific to: (a) components of same day discharge, (b) patient selection, and (c) strategies used to implement same day discharge.

Nineteen articles were included that provided information about implementation strategies for same day discharge. Variability was identified in how same day discharge was operationalized, how patients were selected, and the strategies that were used to implement same day discharge. Culture, patient preference, and acceptance of same day discharge were important for its implementation. Guideline or protocol, physical environment, champion, education, audit or feedback, and team building were all found to be important strategies in implementing same day discharge.

The results of this integrative review inform our understanding of how same day discharge is operationalized and what strategies can be used to implement same day discharge. The findings of the review highlight that there is a need for more research examining implementation strategies in a detailed manner that can assist others to introduce and sustain same day discharge in routine practice.