{"id":2826,"date":"2015-01-07T11:39:10","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T16:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/52.229.122.34\/en\/?p=2826"},"modified":"2021-02-17T12:57:42","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T17:57:42","slug":"checking-in-calling-patients-at-home-after-discharge-catches-problems-and-reassures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/uncategorized\/checking-in-calling-patients-at-home-after-discharge-catches-problems-and-reassures\/","title":{"rendered":"Checking in: calling patients at home after discharge catches problems and reassures"},"content":{"rendered":"

RNs Melanie Strittmatter (left) and Dr. Chantal Backman are part of the hospital\u2019s post-discharge phone call program.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt used to feel like nobody cared when we left the hospital,\u201d a patient told RN Sascha M\u00e9nard early this fall. \u201cAnd now I know they care.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00e9nard was, until a recent move to a new role at The Ottawa Hospital, part of a small team of nurses who call patients a few days after they\u2019ve been discharged. The program, which began as a pilot last May and has been extended through the next fiscal year, targets medicine and surgery patients.<\/p>\n

During the calls, the nurses introduce themselves and then ask a series of questions to ensure patients are okay and adjusting well to being at home. Did the patient understand his discharge instructions? Does she know what to expect next? Is he taking all the correct medication?<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re often uncertain because they aren\u2019t sure what\u2019s normal,\u201d said M\u00e9nard. \u201cMaybe there is swelling, or they\u2019re experiencing some pain around a surgical wound. I ask about their symptoms. I reassure the patient that they\u2019re \u2018normal\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the symptoms aren\u2019t normal, the nurses follow up with the surgeon or physician, or refer the patient back to hospital. They also ask what could have improved the patient\u2019s hospital experience and if there\u2019s someone they\u2019d like to thank.<\/p>\n

Feedback from the phone calls has been useful, said Dr. Chantal Backman, who leads the program.<\/p>\n

For example, physicians are now more diligent about completing discharge summaries, which help patients understand what their next steps are and provide continuity in follow-up appointments.  In medicine and surgery departments, 81 percent of the summaries are now completed \u2013 a nine percent jump from May 2014.<\/p>\n

The hospital\u2019s patient experience ratings have improved since the program began. \u201cAlthough many different things are contributing to this indicator, we know this program is helping,\u201d said Backman.<\/p>\n

M\u00e9nard said patients truly appreciate the nurses checking on them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re happy to hear from you,\u201d she said. \u201cIf things aren\u2019t going well, it can be overwhelming to call the hospital. They can ask you all of their questions and make sure they know what’s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RNs Melanie Strittmatter (left) and Dr. Chantal Backman are part of the hospital\u2019s post-discharge phone call program. \u201cIt used to feel like nobody cared when we left the hospital,\u201d a patient told RN Sascha M\u00e9nard early this fall. \u201cAnd now I know they care.\u201d M\u00e9nard was, until a recent move to a new role at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"wps_subtitle":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ottawahospital.on.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}