Improving Timely Discharges Through Nurse-Initiated Conditional Discharge Orders

Hospitalized patients are often medically ready for discharge before actual time of discharge. Delays are multifactorial, including medical staff workflow, knowledge, culture, and system issues. Identifying discharge criteria in a nurse-initiated conditional discharge (NICD) order facilitates a nurse-initiated discharge, creates a shared mental model for early discharge readiness, and improves workflow delays. The objective was to increase the percentage of morning discharges from 6% to 11% on the hospitalist intervention team, sustaining 11% for 6 months.

All patients admitted to a hospitalist service (intervention team) were targeted from July 2018 through March 2020. The primary outcome measure was percentage of morning discharges (6:00 am-12:00 pm). Quality improvement methodology was used to initiate bundled interventions, including NICD order use and education, written tool dissemination, and weekly e-mail reminders (PDSA1). Continued education with dissemination of an instructional module and a resident champion were established to improve resident hesitancy (PDSA2).

Special cause variation was observed for the primary outcome after PDSA2 with a positive shift in the number of early discharges. Special cause variation was observed in the process measure after PDSA1 with 6 points above the mean.

Through NICD orders, written tool dissemination, and a resident champion to encourage system-wide culture change, patients were discharged earlier, improving patient flow.