Introduction:

Hospital discharge is the process involving the patient's discharge from the hospital to their home. Advance planning contributes to patient safety and reduces hospital readmissions. The fundamental pillar is the discharge summary, a document issued by the physician in charge of care, which summarizes the care provided. It is considered a marker of healthcare quality. Although the basic components of good quality are defined, in clinical practice there is great variability and heterogeneity in their preparation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the preparation and quality of discharge summaries prepared by physicians in the Department of Internal Medicine at Pasteur Hospital.

Methodology:

A longitudinal, prospective, analytical, interventional study in two stages (pre- and post-intervention during training). A team of trained physicians assessed the presence/absence of the study variables. The presence of at least three of the five variables defined a "satisfactory quality discharge summary."

Results:

In phase 1, 112/165 discharge summaries were of adequate quality (67.9%), and 17/165 contained all variables (10.3%). In phase 2, 152/192 discharge summaries were of adequate quality (79.2%), and 38/192 contained all variables (19.8%). After training, the presence of all variables increased, with significant increases for the variables Reconciled Medication List (p = 0.047) and Care and Recommendations at Discharge (p = 0.021).

Discussion:

The study shows overall and item-specific results similar to international data, highlighting the wide range of results found in some of them, which is considered effective. However, we found variables with low reporting rates (physical examination at discharge), which require further work.

Conclusion:

This is the first national study on this topic. Structured training on the preparation of the RA within the training of internists is a fundamental measure aimed at improving the quality of the RA.

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