Bridging the Gap: A Quality Improvement Project Improving Communication Between Community-Based Inpatient and...

Gaps in communication between inpatient and outpatient psychiatric providers can lead to poor care continuity, negatively impacting patient outcomes such as increased readmission rates and worsened mental health symptoms. This quality improvement project aimed to address these communication gaps by implementing a structured discharge summary communication process between inpatient psychiatric services at a large community-based academic medical center and outpatient psychiatric providers at a local clinic. A pre- and post-intervention survey design was used to assess provider perceptions regarding the timeliness, completeness, and usefulness of discharge summaries. Between January and March 2025, 210 discharge summaries were faxed from the inpatient unit to outpatient facilities. Providers at the outpatient clinic reported improvements in the timeliness of discharge summaries, with 60% expressing satisfaction with the speed of delivery. However, significant challenges remained, including insufficient medication detail and low confidence in managing post-discharge medication regimens. Despite these challenges, 100% of respondents agreed that receiving discharge summaries in advance improved patient care. The results suggest that structured discharge communication can improve continuity of care and provider confidence, but further improvements are needed in the completeness of medication details. Standardizing discharge summaries and refining the communication process could enhance patient safety, reduce readmission rates, and improve medication management post-discharge. Future efforts should focus on improving discharge documentation, addressing gaps in medication information, and extending this process to other psychiatric units and community-based healthcare settings.