Improving transplant discharge education using a structured teaching approach.

Context: Nonadherence to posttransplant regimens is common in transplant patients and has the potential for devastating consequences, including acute rejection, graft loss, decreased quality of life, and even death. Comprehensive education of patients and families that improves their understanding of posttransplant regimens and self-care techniques can increase adherence and improve outcomes. Transplant recipients have to learn a vast amount of complex information in a short period as they recover from major surgery and cope with the emotional stress of transplantation. It is not surprising that many patients report that they do not feel ready for discharge.

Objective: To describe the development, implementation, and outcomes of a comprehensive interdisciplinary patient education program.

Design: A quality improvement project.

Setting: A solid organ transplant unit of a large academic medical center.

Participants: In-hospital transplant patients and their families and the interdisciplinary team.

Interventions: A comprehensive discharge education program that integrated written materials, patient and clinical pathways, and discharge instructions.

Main Outcome Measure: Improved patient satisfaction with readiness for discharge and medication teaching.

Results: A postimplementation patient discharge survey using a 5-point Likert scale showed an increase in patients' understanding of medication dosage (3.6 to 4.6) and side effects (3.6 to 4.7), and satisfaction with the discharge teaching process (3.4 to 5.0).