Background:

The quality of provider–provider and patient‐provider communication at discharge is associated with patient satisfaction, adherence to treatment plans, and clinical outcomes. However, the ways in which providers communicate with each other and with patients at discharge is unknown. Therefore, we queried hospitalists about their interactions with patients and other providers at the time of hospital discharge.

Methods:

As part of an ongoing institutional review board–approved intervention focused on medical professionalism, we conducted a cross‐sectional survey of 27 hospitalists at a 350‐bed university‐affiliated community teaching hospital. Respondents were contacted by e‐mail and responded via an electronic survey. Respondents were queried about the frequency of various behaviors. Responses were assessed with a 5 point Likert‐type scale that ranged from “never” to “always.” Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results:

Twenty‐seven hospitalists completed the questionnaire (100% response rate). Fifty‐two percent of respondents were female, and 74% had been working within this hospitalist group > 1 year. Thirty percent had at least some experience working in ambulatory settings after residency. Hospitalists infrequently employed teach‐back methods with their patients at the time of discharge (55.6% responded “never” or “rarely”), contacted the patient's primary care provider after discharge (41% responded “never” or “rarely”), or called their patient after discharge (93% responded “never” or “rarely”). In contrast, respondents reported more concern with timeliness of discharge summaries (74% reported “usually” or “always” completing discharge summaries within 24 hours of discharge) and personally ensuring that patients had a scheduled follow‐up appointment (56% responded “usually” or “always”). Respondents also personally spoke with patients or their care‐givers about significant test results (96% responded “usually” or “always”), red flags (78% responded “usually” or “always”), and discharge medications (89% responded “usually” or “always”). Relatively fewer respondents (52%) reported that they “usually” or “always” spoke with a patient's nurse about the postdischarge care plan, and only 7.4% “usually” or “always” contacted the primary care provider after a patient was discharged.

Conclusions:

In general, hospitalists most reliably convey important information to the patients themselves prior to discharge. However, only a minority employ the “teach‐back” method when doing so. Many hospitalists also do not communicate with other providers who play key roles during hospital discharge and in the post–acute care setting. Standardizing discharge processes among providers may positively influence hospitalist behaviors around the time of discharge. Further work is needed to understand the effects of these communication patterns.

Disclosures:

J. Bracey ‐ none; R. Boonyasai ‐ none; S. Wright ‐ none