Project RED Impacts Patient Experience.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Care Quality
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Hospitalized patients often lack adequate preparation for self-care post-discharge, contributing to readmissions.
• Improving patient education and discharge preparation is a key strategy to reduce hospital readmission rates.
• The ReEngineered Discharge (RED) is a structured program to equip patients and caregivers with essential home-care information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of the RED intervention on adult patient experience scores after hospital discharge.
• To evaluate patient-reported outcomes related to post-discharge care instructions.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive pilot study compared post-hospitalization survey responses.
• Patient experience was measured using the Press Ganey survey item on self-care instructions.
• Three patient groups were compared: RED program, standard discharge (same unit), and standard discharge (other units).

Main Results:

• A higher percentage of patients receiving the RED program rated their discharge as "very good" (61%).
• Patients receiving standard discharge on the same unit reported "very good" ratings at 35%, and 35% on other units.
• The difference in "very good" ratings between the RED group and standard discharge groups was statistically significant (P = .0001).

Conclusions:

• A standardized discharge program like RED enhances patient experience and perceived preparedness for home care.
• Further research is needed to confirm the sustainability of these improvements in patient experience.
• Investigating the effectiveness of hospital-based transition programs across diverse patient populations is recommended.