Influence of a "discharge interview" on patient knowledge, compliance, and functional status after hospitalization

Physicians commonly assume that they can educate hospitalized patients to follow prescribed treatment plans after discharge. In a prospective, controlled study, we assessed the effectiveness of a discharge interview given to each of 545 hospitalized patients assigned to one of four groups: a group in which the physicians caring for the patients received a 35-minute tutorial on how to conduct a discharge interview (n = 181), a group that received a 15-minute discharge interview from an investigator (n = 53), a group that received both interventions (n = 63), or a control group (n = 248). One month after discharge, all patients were telephoned, and a standardized questionnaire was administered. Results revealed that, 1 month after discharge, there were no significant differences among the four groups in knowledge of diagnosis, symptom status, activity level, medication knowledge and compliance, appointment keeping, and rates of rehospitalization. These results suggest that effective inpatient education may require more than a discharge interview.