Examining how ready a patient feels to be discharged can be a clinically useful patient satisfaction metric, according to a new study published in Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Researchers examined data from more than 300 adult patients with a median length of stay of 10 days from 2009 to 2012. Of the adults studied, 55 percent of the patients indicated they felt ready to go home on a survey.
The patients who indicated they were ready for discharge had higher satisfaction scores than those who were less ready for discharge in three areas:
1. Overall hospital satisfaction
Ready for discharge — 87.3 percent
Less ready for discharge — 62.4 percent
2. Physician communication scores
Ready for discharge — score of 3
Less ready for discharge — score of 2
3. Nursing communication scores
Ready for discharge — score of 3
Less ready for discharge — score of 2
Readmission rates were also lower for those who were ready for discharge (11.4 percent) than for those who felt less ready (18.2 percent), although the rates were similar.
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