A Structured Workshop to Improve the Quality of Resident Discharge Summaries

Abstract

The quality of hospital discharge summaries improved following the implementation of a novel, structured program to teach chart documentation skills. Ongoing improvement was seen 1 and 2 years into the program, suggesting that continuing instruction in those skills was beneficial.

Optimizing the quality of hospital discharge summaries – a systematic review and practical tools

“…Table 1 gives an overview of the interventional studies and results. Educational and training measures seem to have a positive effect on the quality of DS, namely, brief educational interventions and education programs (workshops) [29,39]. Additionally, common training instruments, such as audit and feedback, are helpful [32].…”

“…Similarly, the Australian Melbourne Children's Hospital recommendations contain helpful practical content, including a checklist, to be used in training [66]. By following the sections of a checklist step by step (for an example, see Table 2), the content and structural aspects can be incorporated and a standardized form of reporting can be obtained, errors in the content of the DS can be reduced, and its quality can be improved [39,67,68].…”

“…Regarding question 1, 19 studies were included in this review [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. The analysis of these articles revealed considerable heterogeneity in the types of intervention and research design.…”

Education in Neurology Resident Documentation Using Payroll Simulation

“…16 One medicine department ran a 3-year program of monthly 1-hour workshops. 17 Another department simulated ''virtual practice'' by creating twelve 30-minute didactic modules and incorporated continuous feedback with individual and group productivity reports. 18 Our training program required time allocation for raters and the program coordinator.…”

Triple Duty: Integrating Graduate Medical Education With Maintenance of Board Certification to Improve Clinician Communication at Hospital Discharge

“…Although residents are expected to consistently write comprehensive, timely, and accurate discharge summaries, they often receive little formal training in this skill. 4,5 The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requires that residents demonstrate their involvement in quality improvement (QI) activities, and the American Board of Medical Specialties Program for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requires that physicians complete activities that demonstrate their active involvement in patient safety and QI. 6 Patient safety, QI, and care transitions are also key focal areas in the ACGME's Clinical Learning Environment Review program.…”