The Pediatric Post-Hospital Outreach Needs Evaluation (PHONE) Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Healthcare
• Patient Safety
• Communication Studies

Background:

• Effective hospital discharge communication is vital for safe care transitions.
• Postdischarge calls offer insights into discharge process improvements, but are understudied in pediatrics.
• This pilot study examined family calls after pediatric discharge to identify common concerns.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the content and timing of caregiver-initiated postdischarge calls.
• To identify common clinical and nonclinical concerns following pediatric hospital discharge.
• To inform strategies for improving discharge support and patient safety.

Main Methods:

• Single-center, cross-sectional observational pilot study.
• Analysis of 32 caregiver-initiated calls over 8 months.
• Inductive thematic analysis of call content and comparison with electronic medical record data.

Main Results:

• Calls were evenly split between clinical (symptoms, medications) and nonclinical (system, provider issues) topics.
• Medication dosing questions were 50% of clinical inquiries.
• Nonclinical calls, often concerning logistics, peaked around day 3 post-discharge (70% of calls at 3 days were nonclinical).

Conclusions:

• The first three days post-discharge represent a critical window for family support.
• Calls during this period frequently involve medication and system-level issues.
• Proactive outreach to families can enhance communication and improve pediatric patient safety.