Effectiveness of Implementing a Predischarge Order to Discharge Patients Before 11 a.m

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Clinical Informatics
• Patient Flow Optimization

Background:

• Poor communication, pending results, and logistical delays are barriers to timely hospital discharges.
• Baseline data showed 5% of patients discharged before 11 a.m. with a mean processing time of 145 minutes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of an electronic predischarge order system.
• To determine if the system could achieve discharging over 40% of patients before 11 a.m.

Main Methods:

• An electronic predischarge order set was implemented to coordinate discharge tasks among healthcare teams.
• The intervention involved nurses, pharmacists, case managers, and social workers.

Main Results:

• The resident teaching service discharged 22% of patients before 11 a.m. (baseline 5%, p < 0.001).
• Mean total discharge time decreased to 77 minutes (baseline 145 minutes, p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The electronic predischarge order system significantly improved early discharge rates and reduced processing times.
• Further interventions are needed to overcome identified limitations and achieve the 40% early discharge goal.