SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Team Discharge: A Proven Approach to Improving Patient Satisfaction

Pdf Summary

NYU Langone Health implemented “Team Discharge,” a standardized bedside touchpoint involving both the RN and provider before discharge to improve patient understanding, communication, and satisfaction. The goal was to help patients better understand medications, self-care responsibilities, follow-up needs, and discharge instructions, while also improving HCAHPS patient experience scores.<br /><br />The process was piloted on a medicine unit in February 2023 and expanded across the acute medicine service in September 2023. Staff were educated through monthly meetings and weekly huddles. After the discharge conversation, the RN documented completion in Epic using a Smartphrase, and an Epic Workbench report tracked weekly and monthly compliance. Results were shared regularly to promote accountability and transparency.<br /><br />Compliance improved substantially over the fiscal year, rising from 27% to 83%, an absolute increase of 56%. The team reported that this improvement was driven by ongoing messaging, leadership follow-up, and visibility of performance data.<br /><br />Patient experience also improved among patients who received Team Discharge. The biggest gain was in understanding the purpose of each medication, which increased by about 20% in top-box HCAHPS scoring. There was also an 11% increase in patients reporting a good understanding of what they were responsible for in managing their health. Smaller improvements were seen in discharge information questions that were already relatively strong.<br /><br />Overall, the initiative appears to have improved discharge quality, reduced reliance on Secure Chat, improved medication accuracy, and helped clarify key points in the After Visit Summary. Due to its success, Team Discharge was expanded across the Manhattan campus.

Asset Subtitle

Benjamin Verplanke

Meta Tag

Author List Adriana Quinones-Camacho, Benjamin Verplanke, Lauren Messing, Lori Aavik, Regina Grinblat

Category Innovations

Concept Team Discharge

Concept HCAHPS

Concept Medication Understanding

Concept Self-Management Responsibilities

Concept Bedside Discharge

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization NYU Langone Health

Presenting Author Benjamin Verplanke

Track Quality Improvement

Keywords

NYU Langone Health

Team Discharge

patient discharge

HCAHPS scores

bedside communication

medication understanding

Epic documentation

care coordination

patient satisfaction

discharge instructions

Team Discharge

HCAHPS

Medication Understanding

Self-Management Responsibilities

Bedside Discharge