Trauma Patient-Centered Discharge Plan Form: A Pilot Study

Comprehensive and multidisciplinary discharge planning can improve trauma patient throughput, decrease length of hospitalization, increase family and patient support, and expedite hospital discharge.

This study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of implementing a patient-centered discharge plan form for adult trauma patients.

A single-center pilot study was conducted with adult trauma patients on a neurosurgical medical-surgical floor at a Level II trauma center in the Western United States from January to February 2023. The study had three phases: observation, pilot intervention, and follow-up. The key pilot intervention was the development of a standardized patient-centered discharge plan form, pilot tested by a trauma advanced practice provider and an inpatient discharge nurse. The primary outcome was the frequency of discharge orders being written before noon on the day of discharge. Qualitative and quantitative outcomes are reported.

The discharge form was used for eight patients during the pilot intervention phase; an advanced practice provider and an inpatient discharge nurse each completed the forms for four patients. Five of eight observed patients had discharge orders before noon; the incidence of orders before noon was slightly higher when the form was completed by the discharge nurse (three of four patients) than by the advanced practice provider (two of four patients).

The pilot study found that the patient-centered discharge plan form was feasible and acceptable to help improve the discharge process for trauma patients. Additional work to further refine the form's content and administration is warranted.