Society of Hospital Medicine: Discharge Checklist
Society of Hospital Medicine
Members of the SHM HQPS Committee developed the preliminary discharge planning Best practices checklist in 2005. The help of Care Transition experts were solicited to provide their input in order to complete a draft. The document was finalized and refined based on feedback received at the 2005 SHM Annual Meeting workshop session dedicated the development of the checklist. With support from the Hartford Foundation, the SHM HQPS Committee, with a panel of care transition experts, developed the discharge planning best practices checklist. SHM members also contributed input at the 2005 annual meeting in a dedicated workshop.
To develop the foundation for discharge best practices for Hospitalists. Many adverse events are preventable through careful discharge planning. Discharge routines are usually based on experience and local factors such as case management and social work models rather then a best practice model, integrating evidence with expert opinion. The SHM discharge checklist offers best practices in an area that has not been defined by other national or professional organizations (to the best of SHM's knowledge). Using the proposed checklist, Hospitalists can adopt institutional strategies to improve and standardize the discharge process. - Define best practices as they specifically relate to discharge planning for older adults - Provide framework for interactions in outlined domains related to Discharge Planning, Medications and Discharge Summary Document