Comparison of Documentation on Inpatient Discharge and Ambulatory End-of-Visit Summaries

Providing complete pending diagnostic test information and medication lists on inpatient discharge and ambulatory end-of-visit summaries decreases adverse events, reduces medical errors, and improves patient satisfaction. The purpose was to compare inpatient and ambulatory settings regarding percentages of records with documentation of pending diagnostic test result information and medication lists given at discharge/end of visit.

Using a cross-sectional, observational design, 2018 NDNQI discharge/end-of-visit data from 133 inpatient and 90 ambulatory units in 20 hospitals were examined. Trained site coordinators reviewed records for documentation of discharge/end-of-visit elements. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare inpatient and ambulatory percent of elements completed.

Across all discharge/end-of-visit elements, there were differences (all p < .001) between inpatient and ambulatory settings. Ambulatory units had a lower percent completion for all medication list and pending diagnostic result elements. Depending on the element, the sample means for documentation in discharge/end-of-visit summaries were 18.6-98.8% for inpatient and 4.5-61.8% for ambulatory settings.

Discharge instructions and end-of-visit summaries are crucial forms of communication between clinicians and patients. However, many patients are not receiving complete information.

In a large nationwide sample, we found substantial opportunities to improve completeness of summaries, particularly in ambulatory settings.