Why is a Hospital Discharge Planning Solution Important?
To answer the question above – it bridges the gaps and lays a foundation for smooth pathways as patients move across the continuum of care. It empowers patient choice for post-acute care (PAC), and enables you to deliver better outcomes with higher patient satisfaction. It also alleviates cause for concern and possible error, i.e., failed handoffs that lead to readmissions. Unplanned readmissions cost the healthcare industry approximately 15 to 20 billion dollars annually. Therefore, any opportunity to prevent unnecessary or avoidable readmissions is favorable to all health care systems and the well-being of patients.
Each year, at least one in five patients require follow-up care after being discharged from a U.S. hospital. A significant benefit to having a discharge planning software solution is that it uses automation to streamline staff workflows, and to sanction the quick and efficient movement of patients into a facility of their choice. This patient-centered approach also ensures the necessary services and resources are seamlessly put in place at the click of a button – all to encourage success for patients adhering to their individualized discharge plans.
Getting patients placed appropriately is always top of mind. But as we saw last year in the height of the pandemic, throughput is essential! There was a surge in numbers of patients who needed to be discharged from hospitals and required post-acute care. We saw the need for fluent and flawless process, as patient volumes exceeded available service providers. Transitions of care and coordinating patient transfers need to be smooth and efficient. As we have learned from this trying time — we need to do discharge planning well, with the ultimate goal being that our patients will be prepared and ready to excel in their next phase of care.
The more stringently defined your process is for care coordination – the better. It is also important to note that an automated discharge system is not isolated to just hospitals but can benefit any facility or organization where there is a need to move a patient to their next level of care. A useful tool like this could really help support facilities such as rehabilitation centers or critical access hospitals.
Let’s circle back to the question, why is a hospital discharge planning process important? There are numerous reasons! Below we address how a hospital discharge planning software solution can help case managers and frontline administrators:
It manages everything about the discharge planning process from start to finish and in one easily accessible place. Everything is consolidated into one secure platform to minimize delays and eliminate time spent on manual and clerical processes.
This includes using the system to manage workflows, track documents, route e-signed forms, manage referrals and monitor authorization requests, provide patient choice by having patients rank their top choice providers, instant messaging and communication with PAC, sending pre-defined packets at the click of a button, and more.
Reduce length of stay (LOS) and unnecessary readmissions. Use automation to streamline process and improve workflows that deliver improved patient care transitions.
Flags in our MorCare system allow you to track the status of your patients, what their needs are, what documentation you have/or are waiting for, as well as key fields that help you identify when patients are ready to transition.
Creating efficiencies for large health systems, hospitals, rehabilitation centers AND rural hospitals that deliver better throughput and ensure smarter handoffs. The benefits of automation to improve discharge planning efforts are not just applicable to large organizations anymore. Small and rural hospitals recognize the advantages of using MorCare’s scalable to organizational size discharge planning and provider resource networking tools, as well as our standalone morCareConnect solution to heighten quality and efficiency with discharge planning efforts. This helpful application has especially been recognized in rural health where so many hats are being worn by one employee. The demand for a scaled-to-size software that meets a specific site’s needs can significantly contribute to optimizing outcomes.
If you have questions, are considering a discharge planning solution, or if you would like to learn more about the benefits MorCare delivers in this area, please be sure to connect with us .
