Experts stress that complete and timely discharge summaries are vital to improve communication among physicians and reduce readmissions.

1. Complete and Timely Discharge Summaries Vital for Enhancing
Physician Communication
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Experts stress that complete and timely discharge summaries are vital to improve communication
among physicians and reduce readmissions.

2. www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com 1-800-670-2809
Discharge summaries are a key tool to transfer information between the hospitalist and
primary care physician, and also help healthcare communicate with patients.
Comprehensive and timely discharge summaries can also reduce the chance of
readmissions. Reliable medical transcription service companies can ensure prompt and
accurate discharge summaries, ensuring smooth communication among healthcare
providers and improving patient care.
The Joint Commission has set down the elements that discharge summaries should contain:
the reason for hospitalization, significant findings, procedures and treatment provided,
patient's discharge condition, patient and family instructions, and the attending physician’s
signature and date of service. Importantly, the discharge summary must not bring in new
information or conflict with previous documentation substantiated in the patient’s medical
record.
Despite the crucial role that discharge summaries play, studies have found that they are not
given the importance they deserve. A review of literature that appeared in a 2007 issue of
the Journal of the American Medical Association noted that discharge summaries were often
incomplete and missed important data. The researchers reported that between 66% and
88% of discharge summaries were not sent to the outpatient provider in time for the follow-
up visit and that the outpatient physician did not receive the discharge summary at all for
25% of patients. Other studies have found that lacked quality and were too lengthy.
What’s alarming is that these problems persist even today. In January 2016, Becker
Hospital Review reported on a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine which
found that less than one third (12 to 33 percent) of primary care physicians surveyed could
access their patient's discharge summaries at the time of the patient's first post-discharge
visit. This breakdown in communication could mean that primary care physicians lack
information about a patient's diagnosis, possible actionable test results, discharge
medication reconciliation, required follow-up care and confirmed or pending test or
procedure results.
Electronic health records (EHRs) have changed the discharge summary scenario in that
information can be entered faster in a structured template. Transmission is also much
faster. However, the electronic template should be well-designed with prompts for all the
required elements. All the important information should be included so that the receiving
physician can quickly identify how to respond to the patient’s needs. While entering
information into the template, physicians should avoid cutting and pasting, as this could

3. www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com 1-800-670-2809
lead to errors. The discharge summary should also arrive before the outpatient follow-up
visit takes place – studies have found that this reduces the risk of readmission.
Experts emphasize the importance of teamwork and cooperation among healthcare
providers in creating quality discharge summaries for the smooth transition of care. Many
providers choose to outsource medical transcription as this is a proven way to get high
quality and timely discharge summaries and other medical reports through EHR integrated
medical transcription.