SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Evaluating Hospitalist Experience With an Electronic Health Record Discharge Tool

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This document reports an evaluation of an EHR-based “Discharge Report” tool designed to improve discharge coordination among hospitalists. The tool was created in April 2021 to consolidate key discharge planning information such as estimated discharge date, therapy recommendations, disposition, case management notes, medications, and follow-up appointments.<br /><br />The study assessed use and perceived impact over a 3-month period among 164 hospital medicine attending physicians. Audit-log data showed that 53 physicians (32.3%) viewed the Discharge Report at least once. Among those users, the report was accessed relatively infrequently, averaging once every 9 days logged into the EHR. A survey was completed by 50 of 160 hospitalists (31.3%), and 21 respondents (42%) said they had ever used the report.<br /><br />Among survey respondents, regular users reported that the tool improved discharge efficiency, while rare users generally reported no effect on workflow. Overall, the findings suggest that the Discharge Report had neutral to positive effects for those who used it, but adoption was limited.<br /><br />The main conclusion is that fewer than half of hospital medicine attendings ever used the Discharge Report, and its benefit appears to depend on how often and by whom it is used. The study highlights a common challenge for EHR-based coordination tools: even when thoughtfully designed, their potential value may be constrained by low awareness and modest uptake.

Asset Subtitle

Anoop N. Muniyappa

Meta Tag

Author List Anoop N. Muniyappa, Brandon S. Scott, Michelle S. Mourad

Category Research

Concept EHR-based Discharge Report

Concept Audit Log

Concept Implementation Barriers

Concept Discharge Coordination

Concept Adoption

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization University of California, San Francisco

Presenting Author Anoop N. Muniyappa

Track Technology in Hospital Medicine

Keywords

EHR

Discharge Report

hospitalists

discharge coordination

workflow efficiency

audit-log data

adoption

survey respondents

case management

follow-up appointments

EHR-based Discharge Report

Audit Log

Implementation Barriers

Discharge Coordination

Adoption