Effects of Implementing a Health Team Communication Redesign on Hospital Readmissions Within 30 Days.

Background And Rationale: Poor communication between health team members can interfere with timely, coordinated preparation for hospital discharge. Research on daily bedside interprofessional health team rounds and nursing bedside shift handoff reports provides evidence that these strategies can improve communication.

Aims: To improve health team communication and collaboration about hospital discharge; improve patient experience of discharge measured by patient-reported quality of discharge teaching, readiness for discharge, and postdischarge coping difficulty; and reduce readmissions and emergency department (ED) visits postdischarge.

Integrating Research and Quality Improvement Using TeamSTEPPS: A Health Team Communication Project to Improve Hospital Discharge.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this article is to describe an innovative approach to the integration of quality improvement and research processes. A project with the objective of improving health team communication about hospital discharge provides an exemplar case.

Description Of The Project/program: The TeamSTEPPS 10-step action planning guide provided the structure for planning, developing, and evaluating a redesign of interprofessional health team communication to improve hospital discharge led by 2 clinical nurse specialists.

Interprofessional Health Team Communication About Hospital Discharge: An Implementation Science Evaluation Study.

The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research guided formative evaluation of the implementation of a redesigned interprofessional team rounding process. The purpose of the redesigned process was to improve health team communication about hospital discharge. Themes emerging from interviews of patients, nurses, and providers revealed the inherent value and positive characteristics of the new process, but also workflow, team hierarchy, and process challenges to successful implementation.