According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), discharge planning determines the type of care patients need after leaving a hospital. It is a task typically performed by nurses, social workers, or therapists. Sometimes, discharge planning goes smoothly, but there are times when it goes wrong. One of the areas where discharge planning sometimes doesn’t go as smoothly as it should or completely fails is in hospitals.
What More People Should Know About Poor Discharge Planning
When discharge planning doesn’t go right or as smoothly as it should, it usually stems from poor planning. One area where poor discharge planning is on the rise is among Medicare patients. Studies show Medicare patients account for nearly 20% of all poor discharge cases that result in hospital readmissions. Most of these readmissions happen within the first 30 days of discharge.
Factors That Contribute to Poor Discharge Planning and How They Can Each Lead to Hospital Readmissions
Many events can contribute to poor discharge planning, especially among Medicare patients. High patient complexity is the primary contributor to poor discharge planning among this particular demographic of patients. For reference, high patient complexity refers to patients with numerous, interacting medical, mental, and social challenges. Fragmented care coordination and rushed timelines are also factors that contribute to poor discharge planning among Medicare patients. Others include the following:
- Communication failures – Almost 60% of hospital readmissions are caused by patients not being counseled on the importance of taking their medication as prescribed. Over 80% and roughly 42%, respectively, are the result of clinicians failing to guide patients on follow-up care or asking them if they had any questions before discharge. Whether it’s because they didn’t receive guidance on follow-up care or didn’t ask questions, between 20% and 67% of patients do not attend follow-up appointments after discharge. These communication failures can easily lead to patient rehospitalization.
- Information gaps – Sometimes, patients are discharged before hospitals receive information that is critical to their care. That includes blood tests. Around 40% of hospital discharges occur while a patient’s lab test results are still pending, which is concerning given that lab test results provide valuable insights concerning organ function, white blood cell count, chemical and metabolic balance, and other critical information.
- Lack of family caregiver training – When hospitals fail to provide adequate training to family caregivers, it increases the risk of readmissions, especially when caregivers perform wound care and other complex tasks incorrectly. Under the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act, hospitals in most states are required to provide training to family members designated as caregivers as part of their discharge planning process.
- Lack of patient understanding – Some hospitals do not ensure patients fully understand care instructions before being discharged. An estimated 40% of medication errors and missed follow-ups stem from patients leaving hospitals without fully understanding care instructions provided by hospital staff.
- Medication errors – Being prescribed the wrong medication or dosage can quickly lead to hospital readmission. One-third of all hospital patients experience one or both of these medication errors after discharge.
- Premature discharge – Whether it’s hospital overcrowding, high patient demand for beds, or cost constraints, premature discharge is a factor in many hospital readmissions. Studies show 1 in 6 patients is discharged from a hospital while still needing acute, inpatient care.
How Patients and Their Families Can Avoid Becoming Victims of Poor Discharge Planning and Hospital Readmission
The best way for patients and their families to avoid being victims of poor discharge planning and hospital readmission is to discuss discharge planning during admission. The discussion should focus on proper at-home care instructions and medication information, such as drug name, purpose, dosage, frequency, and administration. For those who might need it, it is also a good idea for patients and their families to designate a family member to serve as a caregiver before admission.
Why You Should Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer if Poor Discharge Planning Leads to Hospital Readmission
While it is entirely possible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit if you or a family member were the victim of poor discharge planning that led to hospital readmission, doing so is not recommended. Malpractice cases like these are complex. They require strict procedural adherence and proving that a premature release or a similar discharge planning failure was the cause of a patient’s rehospitalization. Medical malpractice attorneys are experts at filing and navigating the complexities of a malpractice lawsuit. Some of the things attorneys do to help their clients file and ultimately win a malpractice claim include the following:
- Calculating damages – To ensure patients receive the compensation they deserve when they are a victim of poor discharge planning, a knowledgeable birth injury attorney or medical malpractice attorney will calculate the additional medical bills, lost wages, and other damages patients are entitled to receive as a result of a hospital’s negligence.
- Establishing liability – Attorneys can identify where the fault lies when poor discharge planning leads to patient harm, which can be useful in establishing liability.
- Gathering evidence – Gathering and reviewing medical records and hiring medical experts, if necessary, to prove that the hospital’s premature discharge of a patient caused them harm can be challenging and time-consuming. An attorney can make quick work of these two critical aspects of filing a malpractice claim.
- Proving negligence – An experienced attorney well-versed in malpractice cases can quickly determine if poor discharge planning rises to the level of breach of the standard of care, a critical aspect of holding a hospital accountable for poor discharge planning.
- Settlement negotiations – Mindful of the fact that malpractice claims get settled out of court, an attorney can negotiate a settlement with a hospital or their insurers on their client’s behalf. For reference, nearly 97% of medical malpractice claims get settled out of court.
Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
Poor discharge planning can happen for many reasons. And when it does, it can lead to the worsening of a patient’s existing condition or the development of a new one. While it can’t undo the harm caused, filing and successfully winning a medical malpractice case can go a long way toward making victims of poor discharge planning whole again.
