Discharge summaries enable patients to receive continuity of care after a hospital event and provide the practice with the information they need to know about the episode of care the patient received while in hospital.
There is a wide range of variations in health facilities around discharge summaries, but the most significant issue is that discharge summaries are often misplaced and do not reach the intended practitioner.
eDischarge summaries will be sent electronically and contain information about a patient’s episode of care, including their diagnosis and medication while in hospital, to provide the practitioner with the information required to determine the patient’s ongoing care needs.
eDischarge summaries will:
- Save time at the practice by not having to chase up information from the hospital
- Improve the process of discharge transfer to ensure that the right information is held in the right place
- Improve continuity of care through accurate and timely communication and clinical handover across practitioners
- Reduce scanning and faxing
- Ensure discharge summaries are clear and legible removing the risk of miscommunication through illegible handwriting
- Provide the opportunity to share discharge summaries with a wider range of practitioners involved in the care of a patient, such as allied health, specialists and aged care facilities
- Create efficient clinical systems through direct download of the discharge summary to clinical desktop