Information exchange between registered nurses and district nurses during the discharge planning process: cross-sectional analysis of survey data

Abstract

Objectives: Discharge planning is an important care process for managing transitions from the hospital to the community. It has been studied for >20 years, but few studies clarify the information exchanged between healthcare providers. This study aimed to describe nurses' experiences and perceptions of information exchange during the discharge planning process, focused on what, when and how information is exchanged between the hospital and primary healthcare. Method: A web-based census survey was used to collect data; the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi-squared test. A questionnaire was distributed to 194 registered nurses (129 respondents) from a central county hospital and 67 district nurses (42 respondents) working in 13 primary healthcare centres. Results: The results show a significant difference between given and received information between the two groups. Both groups thought the information exchange worked best when all participants met at the discharge planning conference and that the electronic information system was difficult to use. Conclusion: This study shows difficulties knowing what patient-related information needs to give and not receiving the expected information. These results can be used to develop knowledge about roles, work tasks and needs to enhance the outcome of the process and the information exchanged.

The role of ICT in nursing practice: an integrative literature review of the Swedish context

“…Nurses have expressed concerns regarding the potential risks related to the management of personal records . One study found the information on one patient reported by a caregiver via an ICT to be insufficient , potentially impacting safety. This review also found that nurses believed that ICT could improve the quality and uniformity of care services .…”

“…ICT in nursing practice offers advantages for nurses’ working situations. ICT use can, for example, save time , facilitate information exchange on nonacute or unmodified actions and short‐circuit nurses’ assessments of patients . For some nurses, ICT use has improved their work environments by facilitating collaboration between nurses and colleagues both within wards and between units .…”

Use of Health Information Exchange in The Continuity of Care as Viewed by Patients and Nurses: A Cross Sectional Study

“…Contact nurses in the community are responsible for coordinating the continuation of home care of people with chronic illness after hospital discharge. In an aging population, the number of chronically ill patients increases, hospital stays shorten, and the quantity of hospital beds decreases, making information exchange very relevant for discharge planning and home care [25]. Hence, as the main professionals involved in the process of discharge, community nurses need to cooperate with health and non-health professionals in order to develop, improve, and redesign community services [26].…”

Framing the implementation process of video conferencing in discharge planning – according to staff experience

“…An interview study made as a first part of this study about the implementation process using video conferencing in comprehensive discharge planning mentions a lack of respect, between the professionals and for each other's competence, as a factor that has a negative impact on discharge planning [5]. Also difficulty addressing communication between professions involved in the planning session is described as a problem in a survey study from Sweden [7], as well as in a comparative study based on data from Sweden and the UK [6]. Qualitative studies from Hong Kong, the UK and Ireland also describe communication problems as a barrier to improving the discharge planning process [8][9][10], along with lack of co-ordination of the discharge process, resources and time [9,10].…”